Bid to make a ‘people’s vaccine’ against Covid-19

THE BRITISH government hosted a vaccine summit via video link yesterday, hoping to raise billions of dollars to immunise children in developing countries and to discuss how any potential vaccine against coronavirus might be distributed globally and fairly.

The UN and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have urged that “a people’s vaccine” be developed for Covid-19 that would be freely available to everyone, calling it a “moral imperative.”

Yesterday’s event is a pledging conference for the vaccines alliance GAVI, which says the funds will be used to vaccinate about 300 million children in dozens of countries against diseases like malaria, pneumonia and HPV.

GAVI is also expected to start a new “advance market commitment” mechanism that it hopes will enable developing countries to get any effective Covid-19 vaccine when available.

But experts pointed out that the unprecedented pandemic – where arguably every country will be clamouring for a vaccine – may make such discussions extremely messy.

And the worldwide scramble for masks and ventilators that erupted in the early stages of the pandemic – where countries like France requisitioned the country’s entire supply of masks and the US apparently paid off the shippers of loads already on airplanes to obtain ventilators – are not encouraging signs that there will be much global co-operation if and when a coronavirus vaccine is available.

The urgency of finding a way to stem outbreaks was evident as India yesterday reported yet another record number of new infections – 9 304, with 260 deaths, in the last 24 hours.

India’s total tally of Covid-19 fatalities surpassed 6 000 and its number of infections has risen to nearly 217 000, the Health Ministry said. That makes India the seventh worst country hit by the pandemic.

Neighbouring Pakistan reported over 4 000 new cases and said 82 more people had died, raising its death toll to 1 770. Its confirmed cases surpassed neighbouring China, jumping to 85 264 compared with Beijing’s total of 82 967.

As of yesterday, more than 6.5 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus and more than 386 000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The actual number of infections is thought to be much higher, due to limits on testing and many asymptomatic cases. | AP