British government buys in advance another 110 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, enough to give us all two more jabs. This just reinforces the Groundhog Day cycle that we are now in. Only about 10% of Africa’s population has been vaccinated, largely due to shortage of supply (though there is some vaccine resistance). The U.K. promised 100m doses via COVAX, but has only delivered 11.5m. Similar shortfalls from other countries which made promises mean that 555m doses have been delivered in Africa, rather than the 2 billion planned for this year. Of course, this means that the breeding grounds for new variants remains robust. It doesn’t matter if we buy all the ****ing vaccine in the world and keep it to ourselves, the fewer people vaccinated globally the greater the chance that something will evolve to bypass all the jabs we have had. I’m alright Jack doesn’t work.
So so right. Can I pinch this for my Facebook page, as it is so right and so good. I will attribute to my mate Stan, to avoid any professional issues...if OK with you?
It's not just vaccinations which Africa is short of Stan. For every million population the UK has performed 5 million tests since the pandemic began - the equivalent figure for Nigeria is 16,309 per million population so the frequency of testing is over 250 times greater in the UK. You don't need to be a mathematician to presume that the vast majority of cases in Africa remain undiscovered.
Just had my booster, it was Pfizer. Got to say it was the least amount of fun I’ve had with their products.
Seen from an African perspective Covid 19 may not have the same place on the 'urgency' scale which it does for us Stan. 409,000 people died in Africa from Malaria in 2019. The figure for Meningitis in the Meningitis belt was up to 1,000 for every 100,000 population - 417,000 dead in 2016. If you add to that the problems associated with access to clean water - Typhoid, Diptheria etc. then Covid 19 may not be so high on their list of priorities. Particularly as the African population is so young compared to Europe and their death rate has been so very low. If the main reason why we want vaccines sent to Africa is to stop it being a breeding ground for future variants which may come back to London - then their response may be 'why not the same urgency over Malaria which is more of a problem for us'.
Can the vaccine companies not ramp up production and send it to Africa or is it only up to other countries to buy it first to send to Africa
222,000 known COVID related deaths in Africa to date, 90,000 of them in the country which does test and check, South Africa, so likely to be a vast underestimate given, as you said, little testing underway. Perhaps they can be persuaded that a quick jab can at least take one worry away, especially for their vulnerable. There is a first malaria vaccine now, and better ones on the way. Vaccinating the world is definitely a selfish objective from where I sit. I don’t want to live the rest of my life in various states of lockdown and I definitely want to be able to travel freely without thinking of COVID, COVID tests etc, etc. I have no problem with altruism for self interested motives (which probably means it isn’t altruism). I’m worried by the troglodytes who don’t get this, think ‘foreigners’ should have no access to help from us and think we can wander on in isolation from the rest of the world. Selfish and stupid is a hideous combination, actively fed by our populist chums.
None of us want to live with regular cycles of lockdowns Stan - or with restricted travel. But travel in a globalized World means that diseases will travel as well - 'hands across the sea' means also 'germs across the sea'. I was reading about African Wild Dogs recently - apparently when one of them is ill or has flees they will voluntarily separate themselves from the group until they are better (or not), that social distancing is a well established practice amongst many animals - unfortunately people are not so considerate for each other and we end up with forced lockdowns as a result. Maybe we need to stop and ask what type of Globalization we want in the future - or is it just a polite word for neo liberal capitalism taking over the World ? - questions like 'do we need to localize supply chains', or 'can we commandeer domestic production of needed products'. What is clear is that in national emergencies countries need to have full access to all of their resources in order to fight it - in other words the direct opposite of the free market economics which spawned this problem.
World Health authorities should enforce vaccine companies to donate x% of their vaccines to third world countries as part of their rollout, ie: for every million they sell to say, Britton, 10% must go to a third world country. It’s not rocket science.
To be fair The government paid em 300 million in Covid advertising Saying don't worry it's easing off ain't going to get them much more
And I'd add good mrna vaccines, not Sino xxxxx that only tested 51% effective against the original virus and seems to cause many disabling side effects.
Good comment there mate. I’ve read recently that some vaccines are causing increased pain and issues for those of us who have weakened immune systems. Arthritis sufferers ( self included ) are experiencing are increased pain levels after the second jab. It’s been about two weeks for me and l can tell you the levels have shot up severely. Whether it’s the jab or not, l guess we’ll never know. As l write this post, it’s going off.
The idea of mandatory vaccines put forward by the EU and certain EU member states unsettled me. However, I'm thinking again, as the Sunday Times reports of the frustration of doctors and nurses' at not being able to treat the seriously ill, because more than 90% of Covid sufferers requiring specialist care are unvaccinated.
We will know, if you report the pain as a side effect - let your doctor know, it will add to the pool of knowledge. If it’s a common side effect for people with arthritis they can at least be warned. Having said that both my mum and my mum in law have arthritis, quite severe for the mum in law, and neither of them reported anything beyond 24 hour aches and pains with the booster.
We could always let the unvaccinated know that they will not be taking up NHS capacity with covid related illness. Choices are a privilege and have consequences. The German approach of making life even more uncomfortable for the unvaccinated by choice has merits, though the onus on checking is a bit much. Papers please! I don’t think you can forcibly vaccinate anyone in a supposedly civilised country, presumably those who still resist in Austria and the rest of the EU if they follow will be fined or jailed, rather than held down and jabbed.