Thread by @AbraarKaran

1/ At the FDA meeting— the topic of global vaccine equity was pushed away as an irrelevant consideration to their decision making

This is reflective of a deeper problem— wealthy countries truly believe they can win if they just continue to protect themselves

https://twitter.com/SarahKarlin/status/1438849182572371969

2/ while the US is going to be purchasing “hundreds of millions” more doses to donate— winning a pandemic that hinges on the generosity or altruism of wealthy countries w/ histories of exploitation is problematic & likely short lived.

washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09…

3/ The global vaccine supply issue & need for more decentralized production + technology transfers for scale up is likely the most urgent global dilemma facing the world.

Is it being regarded with the same level of urgency?

It doesn’t seem or feel like it but hard to say

4/ Those more intimately involved with vaccine manufacturing will have a better sense of where this stands now.

But needing a booster in the US for a variant that came from a country that (at the time) needed more vaccines sounds like a problem we will keep dealing with.

5/ this isn’t an FDA advisory committee issue per se— their task at hand was to understand the need for boosters in the US right now

But it needs to be a serious part of the conversation at the highest levels

Inequity in vaccine distribution is a threat to *everyone*

Cc @NickKristof @amymaxmen