THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
“What happens if some countries would really hostage the anti-COVID-19 vaccine?”
This was the question I got from a number of friends who reacted to our column last Sunday.
It will be recalled that, in that piece, we echoed the worry among some of our colleagues in the local government sector over certain issues supposedly hounding prospective vaccines against the deadly virus. They were concerned that these issues could torpedo the public’s aspiration for an effective response to the pandemic.
We said it is important that our local governments keep their eyes focused on preparations for the arrival of the vaccines. We pointed out that the apparent controversy is part of our democratic processes and it is best to concentrate on laying the groundwork for an efficient mass vaccination program.
We noted that despite the issues being raised about the procurement of the vaccines by the national government, many local governments have been busy laying that groundwork.
It appears many cannot help but be distracted by news items coming from the international press about the anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
Among the latest out of the global press were reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned certain European countries about so-called “vaccine nationalism.”
The WHO warning appears to have been triggered by an announcement by the European Union (EU) that it would “impose export controls on vaccines”. The announcement seems to be another fallout of the tension between EU and Great Britain. Two vaccine producers, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, appear to have been caught in the crossfire.
The move by the EU apparently raised fears that wealthy countries would eventually restrict the access of their poorer neighbors to the vaccine.
President Duterte, himself, referred to this development as he urged our countrymen to remain patient as we await the delivery of our share of the vaccine from pharmaceutical companies located in the richer side of the globe.
The concern over the a “vaccine hostage situation” appears to be really too worrisome that Australian officials had reportedly sought official assurance from the European Union that the latter “would not block coronavirus vaccines from being exported” in the wake of the ongoing row.
Latest reports indicate that the EU has backed down from the move it had earlier announced.
Our view is that developed countries which have greater control over the production and the distribution of the vaccine would find it against their own interest to deprive the rest of the world of this vaccine.
The basis of this view is the concept of “interdependent economies.”
Here’s our take.
Developing countries – or the Third World – are both a major market for the exports of wealthy countries. The Third World is also a vital source of raw materials and manpower for the First World.
For countries like the Philippines to continue to be a robust market for First World exports and a viable source of raw materials and manpower, they must recover quickly from the aftermath of the pandemic. It is in the best interest of the First World for Third World countries to have their economies going through a reboot soonest. That cannot happen without a massive and successful mass vaccination program.
The more prudent approach is for countries who have developed vaccines to share what they have with the rest of the world. The vaccine must be made available to everyone.
As Britain’s Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said in a Twitter message, “it is only through international collaboration that we can beat this pandemic.”
An encouraging piece of news is the assurance given last week that the EU will honor its commitment to provide massive doses of the vaccine “to 92 low and middle-income countries through the COVAX facility.” The statement connotes that our hope of obtaining supplies of the vaccine would not be affected by political issues hounding their corner of the world.
Meanwhile, our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to vaccine makers Pfizer and AstraZeneca. We are just waiting for the doses to land in the country. By the time they do, our local governments would have ironed out any kink in their respective mass vaccination systems. We hope that other vaccine manufacturers would obtain their EUAs soon.
We expect other controversies to hound the development and distribution of anti-COVID-19 vaccines.
We are not worried by this. The fact remains that the world already has a vaccine. It will now just be a matter of time before the pandemic is over.
The length of that time depends on how well peoples and countries would collaborate.
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