GENEVA (PA) – The World Health Organization leader on Monday plundered drug profits and vaccination inequalities, saying it was “unfair” for younger and healthier adults in rich countries to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before people in age or health workers in poorer countries and arguing that most vaccine manufacturers have targeted “higher profits” locations.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus kicked off the week-long WHO leadership meeting – practically from its Geneva headquarters – lamenting that a poor country received only 25 doses of vaccine, while more than 39 million doses were administered in almost 50 richer countries.
“Only 25 doses were given in a low-income country – not 25 million, not 25,000 – only 25. I have to be straightforward: the world is on the brink of catastrophic moral failure,” Tedros said. He did not specify the country, but a WHO spokeswoman identified it as Guinea.
“It is right that all governments want to give priority to vaccinating their own health care workers and the elderly,” he said. “But it is not right for younger and healthier adults in rich countries to be vaccinated in front of health workers and the elderly in poor countries. There will be enough vaccine for everyone. ”
Tedros, an Ethiopian named after him, however, hailed the scientific achievement behind the launch of coronavirus vaccines less than a year after the pandemic erupted in China, where a WHO-backed team has now been deployed to analyze the origins of the coronavirus.
“Vaccines are the blow we all need, literally and figuratively,” Tedros said. “But now we face the real danger that even if vaccines bring hope to some, they become another brick in the wall of inequality between the worlds of those who have and those who do not.”
He noted that the WHO-supported COVAX program, which aims to remove vaccines in all countries, rich or poor, as needed, has so far provided 2 billion doses of vaccine from five manufacturers and options for one billion. extra doses.
“We plan to start deliveries in February,” he said. “COVAX is ready to deliver for what it was created for.”
This target date could be a big order, as a key vaccine manufacturer for the developing world – the Indian Serum Institute – has not confirmed a date and predicted that its launch may not happen before March or April.
In its opening remarks, Tedros spread some of his harshest public words to vaccine manufacturers, criticizing the “bilateral agreements” between them and countries that WHO says can deplete the effectiveness of the COVAX facility – and went on to raises the issue of profits.
“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that most producers have given priority to regulatory approval in rich countries, where profits are higher, than to file complete dossiers with the WHO,” he said.
This seems to allude to a lack of data, according to the UN health agency, which it has received from vaccine manufacturers, so that the WHO can approve their fires for wider use in an emergency.
Dr. Clement Martin Auer, a member of the Austrian board of directors, had sharp words and questions for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, is leading the effort on COVAX.
While calling his principles of equal access to vaccines a “fantastic idea”, Auer blamed COVAX for being “slow” and unable to close “a crucial number” of contracts. He defended the European Union, which has many of the richest countries in the world among its 27 members, for receiving vaccines for its 450 million citizens and for being the “largest donor” in supporting COVAX.
“We in the European Union were skeptical that GAVI-COVAX had the means and capacity to carry out its tasks and negotiate the necessary contracts and to meet the needs of our citizens,” said Auer, adding that COVAX’s management “rejected” proposals negotiated by GAVI and the EU.
He said GAVI-COVAX earlier this year did not include mRNA vaccines like those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in COVAX’s portfolio.
“This was a major mistake, given that mRNAs are the first on the market and gold standards when it comes to COVID vaccines,” Auer said.
WHO has approved Pfzier-BioNTech for emergency use against coronavirus and could approve Moderna this week.
Dr Bruce Aylward, a special adviser to Tedros, said the WHO was in “detailed discussions with Pfizer. We believe that we will soon have access to that product. He said mRNA vaccines are “important” but “extremely difficult” – alluding to cold chain requirements, among other things, and “extremely expensive”.
“Our goal is to vaccinate at least 20 percent of the world this year, and better yet,” Aylward said. “We are in a strong position to move with vaccines globally. We only need the assistance of our Member States in particular to ensure that this becomes a reality. ”
In vaccine news, Israel has reached an agreement with Pfizer, promising to share numerous medical data with the international drug giant in exchange for the continued flow of its hard-to-obtain vaccine.
Proponents say the deal could make Israel the first country to vaccinate its majority of the population, while providing valuable research that could help the rest of the world. But critics say the agreement raises major ethical concerns, including possible breaches of confidentiality and a deepening of the global divide in access to coronavirus vaccines.
Due to the ultra-cold storage required for the Pfizer vaccine, it is more expensive and more difficult to use than some rivals, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, but studies show that it is very effective. The Israeli press reported that Israel paid at least 50% more than other countries for the Pfizer vaccine.
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Ashok Sharma of Delhi and Ilan Ben Sion of Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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