Fewer than 600 million vaccine doses have been administered around the world (population ~8 billion);

75% of those in just 10 mostly high-income countries;

Some 130 countries containing 2.5 billion people have yet to administer a single dose.

newrepublic.com/article/162000… Image
Some may be tempted to say: well, it will just take time...

But a longer pandemic means:

⬛️ more death;

⬛️ more economic disruption;

⬛️ more chance for more dangerous variants to emerge.

bit.ly/3uPgXjv Image
But a longer pandemic was not somehow inevitable.

It was a deliberate policy choice.

By blocking wider production of vaccines worldwide at the WTO, the EU, UK, US & others have knowingly decided to prolong the pandemic.

They know the consequences.
hrw.org/news/2021/03/0… Image
How did we get here?

Did rich governments simply prioritise drug companies' profits over human lives?

Did their politicians think all they had to do to survive politically was get vaccines to their own country?

This NYT piece gives a good overview: nyti.ms/3e71eFY Image
Last month, President @vonderleyen suggested the EU might change its disastrous policy, saying she was “not ruling out” going so far as to waive intellectual property rights on vaccines: politico.eu/newsletter/bru…

Many EU lawmakers are hoping she will:
hrw.org/news/2021/03/2… Image
In the US, the Biden administration also signalled last month that it might move away from this deadly policy: cnbc.com/amp/2021/03/26…

It still seems to be under consideration: forbes.com/sites/nicholas… ImageImage
The world "cannot allow a handful of actors to dictate the terms or the timeframe for ending the pandemic. … The longer we allow billions of people to go unvaccinated, the greater the possibility new variants will develop vaccine resistance." - WHO chief
foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/02/vac… Image
"Biden’s trade chief met with drugmakers and with groups seeking a waiver for sections of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual-property rules to improve vaccine access for poorer nations."
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Image

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More from @astroehlein

16 Apr
So, a 3rd shot will be needed?
cnbc.com/2021/04/15/pfi…

So, rich governments will keep fighting over short supplies…

And most of the world will continue to have nothing…

Yet, the EU, UK, US & others keep blocking wider vaccine production globally:
hrw.org/news/2021/03/0… Image
The future is annual shots?

But there's no capacity to produce so many shots that quickly globally.

So billions of people will never get the latest jab - and be a source of newer variants…

And we'll need newer shots for newer variants…

Forever?

Who benefits from that? Image
This is exactly what experts have been warning against:
oxfam.org/en/press-relea…

And exactly why vaccine equity matters - for everyone:
hrw.org/news/2021/04/0…

#PeoplesVaccine Image
Read 4 tweets
16 Apr
Amid worldwide vaccine shortages, everyone can agree we need expanded vaccine production globally to tackle the global pandemic...

Everyone except the governments that are currently blocking it...

hrw.org/news/2021/03/0… Image
Fewer than 600 million vaccine doses have been administered around the world (population ~8 billion);

75% of those in just 10 mostly high-income countries;

Most countries have yet to administer a single dose.

The killer virus is laughing at us.

who.int/director-gener… Image
Read 4 tweets
15 Apr
I see some people tweeting about getting vaccinated or enjoying something for the first time again after lockdowns.

Could I suggest a bit of care with such tweets, please?

Don't forget the billions of people who are not so lucky, many of whom won't see a jab for years. Image
It's fine to express joy and relief, of course, but maybe just also spare a thought (and a tweet) for the vast majority of people in the world who have been utterly screwed over by the policy of the EU, UK, US & other rich governments to block wider vaccine production globally. Image
If you're in the EU, share this article about how the EU is blocking wider vaccine production globally: hrw.org/news/2021/03/2…

And sign & share this official European Citizens' Initiative to force leaders to act: noprofitonpandemic.eu ImageImageImageImage
Read 5 tweets
14 Apr
"There are many steps that can be taken to ramp up vaccine production and broaden distribution. These include… temporarily waiving intellectual property barriers..."

February 2021

World leaders have wasted 2 months since then...

foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/02/vac… Image
"this is not the beginning of the end; it is only the beginning of an endless wait: There aren’t enough vaccines to go around in the richest countries, let alone the poorest ones."

December 2020

World leaders have wasted 4 months since then...

nytimes.com/2020/12/07/opi… Image
"Governments should support India and South Africa’s proposal to waive some aspects of global intellectual property (IP) rules to enable large-scale manufacturing" - @hrw

October 2020

World leaders have wasted 6 months since then...

hrw.org/news/2020/10/2… Image
Read 8 tweets
11 Apr
At the current rate of vaccination (about 300,000 doses a week) and with some 14.2 million jabs still needed to reach estimated target herd immunity of 70% in a population of 11 million, #Belgium's Covid-19 vaccination program will take 11 more months.
epistat.wiv-isp.be/covid/covid-19…
It's not just Belgium. The EU generally is also going slowly with vaccinations.
ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-…
Meanwhile, the US, which (unlike EU countries) doesn't have a national healthcare system to speak of and normally has the worst health numbers in the developed world, is doing much better.
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra…
Read 14 tweets
31 Mar
TWITTER QUIZ, QUESTION 1:

Who is blocking wider production of Covid vaccines globally, thus prolonging the pandemic?
TWITTER QUIZ, QUESTION 2:

Why is prolonging the pandemic bad?
TWITTER QUIZ, QUESTION 3:

What's the problem with new variants emerging?
Read 5 tweets

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