(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) International Review: New Crown Vaccine Should Be a Global Public Health Product
China News Service, Beijing, May 21 Question: The new crown vaccine should become a global public health product
Author Bo Wenwen
World Health Organization Director General Tan Desai pointed out on the 20th that according to the resolution passed by the 73rd World Health Assembly, in order to completely end the pandemic of the new coronavirus, the new corona vaccine should be listed as a global public health product.
As Tan Desai said, in the face of this pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 people worldwide, the international community should reach consensus on the global public product attributes of the new crown vaccine and work hard in the process of vaccine development, production and distribution Be equal, share and cooperate. As a global public product, the benefits of the new crown vaccine should break through the boundaries of countries, regions and generations.
Data map: World Health Organization Director General Tan Desai.
To be equal, not "priority privileges"
The virus knows no borders, especially vaccines. Whether rich or poor, everyone should have equal access to vaccines.
However, Han Paul, CEO of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, said on the 13th that in return for US investment in research and development of its new crown vaccine, once the vaccine is successfully developed, it will give priority to entering the US market. As soon as this statement came out, public opinion was in an uproar. Some commentators said that President Trump ’s “America First” policy showed the ugliest aspect. This time it was not about tariffs and trade deficits, but about human lives.
French President Macron emphasized that the new crown vaccine is a global public product and should be provided to everyone without market rules. French Prime Minister Philippe also said that equal access to vaccines by all is not negotiable.
UN Secretary General Guterres called on the World Health Assembly held a few days ago to vigorously increase the resources given to developing countries to ensure that the diagnosis, treatment and vaccine of the new coronavirus must be universally enjoyed and affordable by everyone around the world Affordable.
Seth Berkeley, CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), believes that it is important to ensure equal supply of vaccines to developing countries. "If the new crown vaccine is only available to rich countries, it means that the epidemic will continue to spread throughout the world."
On May 18, the 73rd World Health Assembly held an opening ceremony in the form of a video conference. The picture shows the address of the WHO Director-General Tan Desai taken in Berlin, Germany. China News Service reporter Peng Dawei
To share, not to "patent monopoly"
On the eve of the World Health Assembly, more than 140 global leaders and experts such as South African President Ramaphosa and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan signed a joint open letter calling on all countries to make full use of the Doha Declaration to open up resistance Vaccines, sharing knowledge, data and technology to ensure that any country can produce or purchase affordable vaccines and diagnostic tools.
The open letter pointed out, “New crown vaccines and diagnostic tools are in the interest of all human beings as global public goods. We cannot afford the cost of monopoly, primitive competition, and short-sighted nationalism that hinder saving lives.”
During this epidemic, existing countries have begun to promote resource sharing. Costa Rica and WHO will launch a technology platform to share scientific research results, data and property rights on the 29th of this month, aiming to remove barriers to obtaining effective vaccines, medicines and other health products against the new coronavirus.
Observers said that a similar patent sharing mechanism has greatly shortened the reaction speed of all parties, allowed companies to cooperate on drug research, and set lower prices for vaccines and drugs. However, some media reported that the United States tried to downplay the content of the Doha Declaration in the resolution during the World Health Assembly.
Nobel laureate in economics and professor Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University said that patent monopolies often make vaccine suppliers expensive, and if there is no strong public intervention, many people will lose their lives because they cannot afford the vaccine, especially In developing countries.
Data map: Bill Gates and his wife.
To cooperate, not to "play alone"
Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote that if the world wants to return to normal, it is necessary to develop a safe and effective new crown vaccine as soon as possible and produce billions of doses to supply all parts of the world. Unprecedented global cooperation.
British "Financial Times" columnist David Pilling recently commented that most vaccines are the product of international cooperation. A vaccine against Ebola virus was discovered in Canada, developed in the United States, and produced in Germany. "Any country is unlikely to monopolize the new crown vaccine, of course, this is also undesirable."
Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Epidemic Prevention Innovation Alliance (CEPI), believes that competition under vaccine development is neither between companies nor between countries, but between humans and viruses. "The pandemic knows no borders. Every country cannot close itself. We need collective cooperation to solve this problem."
The British "Guardian" reported that in order to help raise funds for vaccine research and development, representatives of more than 40 countries and international organizations attended the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic Pledge Conference in early May, but the United States did not participate. The Trump administration's current "America First" policy has made it out of global anti-epidemic cooperation. The "single-handed" United States may slow the development of a new global crown vaccine.
Tan Desai said in a speech at the World Health Assembly that the epidemic exposed the faults, inequalities, injustices and contradictions of the contemporary world. We have seen the possibility of cooperation and the risks of non-cooperation. Tan Desai said, "Looking forward to the future, we have no other way than unity." (End)