Thread by @PeterHotez

1/n Latest from ⁦@IHME_UW⁩ and their new Global Burden of Disease 2021 data for COVID19 excess mortality in 2021. A few things: First, it helps dispel the myth that LMIC nations on the African Continent were spared the ravages of Covid. A reason…

thelancet.com/journals/lance…

2/n a reason is low vaccination rates. My view: the overemphasis on speed or new technologies and innovations, there were insufficient mRNA and particle vaccine doses made in 2020-21, and these were bought up quickly by high income countries.

3/n I believe if our @TexasChildrens vaccine group received more international assistance we could have moved faster to help LMICs in Africa. As it is even without that help (or very modest help), at least 100 million doses of our low-cost, patent-free Covid vaccine administered

@TexasChildrens 4/n Another interesting aspect: notice the difference between the northern and southern U.S. states? The reason, was politics, and a predatory antivaccine movement from extremist members of the U.S. House and Senate working with Fox News to target 🎯 people in red states

@TexasChildrens 5/n these aspects are reported in my paper published in @Health_Affairs healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.13…

@TexasChildrens @Health_Affairs 6/n also my book with @JHUPress amazon.com/Deadly-Rise-An…