Experts remind Australia’s global COVID-19 pandemic to be a “team game” and promote vaccine supply sharing

A Sydney woman, Cheron Sultan, calls her grandmother every few days to check her.

Trifina Nyati is a strong and independent woman who supports herself in land near Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa, but these are times of trouble in the country, COVID-19. Is a deadly threat for 82 years-old.

Four members of Sultan’s family have already died of COVID-19.

The news that the vaccine is in progress does not ease her worries.

“I think I’ll be vaccinated in front of my grandmother,” Sultan said.

She may be right — a healthy, healthy 32-year-old child may be given the COVID-19 vaccine before her grandmother.

It has recently fought thousands of new cases daily in South Africa, despite nearly zero community transmission of the virus in Australia.

Professor Kim Malholland, who helped the World Health Organization’s policy with research on vaccines around the world, said he was sick to hear that Australia had secured another 10 million Pfizer vaccines.

“The idea that Australia will be vaccinated ahead of countries with really serious problems makes me very uncomfortable,” said Professor Malholland, a senior researcher at the Murdoch Children’s Institute. It was.

Australia currently has a contract to purchase 150 million doses of vaccine. This is enough to inoculate Australia three or more times.

In South Africa, there are speculations that the government plans to purchase Johnson & Johnson vaccine candidates, but so far the country has sufficient supply to cover about 1.3% of the population150. I have purchased AstraZeneca 10,000 times.

Behind the queue

As Professor Malholland sees, few countries have as little vaccine needs as Australia.

He believes it is fair for Australia to vaccinate groups of high-risk people such as quarantine staff, front-line health care workers, and the elderly.

But he wants to postpone vaccination of the rest of the people until the jabs are given to high-risk people elsewhere, such as healthcare workers in countries where hospitals are reaching their limits.

“How do these countries feel when they look back on countries like Australia getting vaccines they didn’t need when their health care workers died?”

WHO supports this view and urges the government to use the COVAX facility to share vaccine doses.

COVAX is a global initiative to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to people in countries that cannot do business directly with vaccine manufacturers.

South Africa is reported to receive up to 12 million doses from the COVAX facility and will receive an additional supply from the African Union.

WHO wants to provide vaccines left by countriesAfter inoculation to front-line healthcare professionals and high-risk groups.

The Australian Government has promised to share vaccine doses with neighboring countries and has promised $ 500 million to support vaccination programs in our region.

When the government recently announced that it had secured an additional dose of Pfizer vaccine, Scott Morrison said, “Currently, we can get more than 150 million doses, so we can continue to lead the world in the fight against the virus. I can do it. “

The government said that making the vaccine available to all in Australia is an important priority in the national strategy to control COVID-19, while the virus is active in other parts of the world. He states that he needs to be prepared for a new outbreak.

Sultan said he was very uncomfortable with the idea of ​​being able to provide the vaccine in front of foreigners in need of more vaccines.

Fitness instructors want to be able to provide vaccines to their South African families.

“We live very freely here in Australia and we are really grateful,” said Sultan.

“You can go to the doctor without being scared and anxious, but over there it’s like,’Should I stay home or go to the hospital and die?'”

Nothing is safe until everything is safe

To date, 10 countries have signed contracts with various vaccine manufacturers to ensure that more vaccines are available than needed to vaccinate the entire population.

Some vaccines have not yet been approved and may not be successful yet, but by hedging bets and securing various options, rich countries are at greatest risk to some poor countries. The entire population will be vaccinated before they can be vaccinated with high-grade vaccines. Citizen.

Data compiled by the Duke Global Health Innovation Center show that Canada is in control Five times the amount needed to cover the population.

The UK, US, EU, and Chile all suffer from numerous infectious diseases and have signed sufficient pre-purchase agreements to inoculate the population at least twice.

Australia and New Zealand are independent as countries that trade more than they need to, while facing near zero infections.

Australia faces moral issues with economic implications, said Linmogen, CEO of Oxfam Australia.

As she sees, we are doing well to protect the population by quickly reducing infection rates and are now aware that we are in a “very lucky position”.

But there are pitfalls.

“If pandemics aren’t suppressed in other countries, all of them will be lost,” Mogen said.

“As we know, if this pandemic lasts for a long time, life will be very constrained.”

A study recently published by the International Chamber of Commerce It turns out that the global economy could suffer as much as $ 9.2 trillion if developing countries do not have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Half of it will be lost by wealthy nations.

The study also calculated that the cost of helping some countries obtain sufficient vaccines is far less than the economic benefits of fair access.

Ms. Mogen understands that the country first protects its national interests, but in Australia it is worth full vaccination of the entire population if it does not do everything it can to control the pandemic globally. Say no.

“We are not safe until everyone is safe.”

“We are all together”

In the early days of the pandemic, it was clear that a global response was needed and that many countries needed assistance in immunizing their people.

To that end, several global organizations have set up COVAX.

Australia has donated $ 203.2 million to this program. $ 123.2 million as part of a pool to buy vaccines when they become available, and 80 million to help poor countries buy vaccines for the most vulnerable groups It’s a dollar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also said Australia has pledged $ 523.2 million to regional vaccine access and health security initiatives to support the purchase and deployment of vaccines in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries.

And earlier this week, Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced a $ 101.9 million promise to support vaccine access in Indonesia.

Ms. Mogen wants Australia and other countries to do more.

“So far, the level of contribution to the COVAX facility, a global mechanism for distribution to people in need, has been terrible,” she said.

She and others are worried that if the pandemic remains uncontrolled elsewhere, everything Australia has done to keep the virus under control will be lost.

Dr. David Durrheim, a co-professor of public health medicine at Newcastle University, said that fair access to vaccines around the world is needed to overcome new strains emerging in areas where disease control is struggling. Said.

“It’s important that everyone has access, whether we take a selfish approach or solidarity,” he said.

He is doing the right thing by making generous promises to support the deployment of vaccines to neighboring countries in the Pacific and Timor, but more to counter current practices of vaccine nationalism. Said that it should be.

“Australia has shown early sympathy, compassion, and social justice, but we can’t stroke our backs,” said Dr. Darheim.

“This is a pandemic and a team game. We are all participating together.”