DAVAO CITY—A regional formation of Catholic schools here has joined the global call to compel rich nations to free up their vaccine hoard to enable developing countries like the Philippines to avail themselves of the supply and, in the process, save millions of lives at risk.
It was a call first aired by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year, immediately followed by the Vatican and by Pope Francis himself, and other smaller but global networks, such as the Jesuit Community to which the Pope belongs.
In reaction to several social-media posts about Europe’s—and the other rich nations’—stockpile and inoculation spree of extra vaccine against Covid-19, the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS) reiterated the concern of these organizations about hordes of people dying amid the pandemic in poor countries.
The DACS said it “finds it extremely alarming and unjust that over 87 percent of the 700 million vaccine doses administered globally have gone to high-income or upper middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2 percent”
“We pay great attention to the needs of the most vulnerable peoples in the world as we unite our voice to the growing call for deeper human solidarity in the fight against the virus and upholding the common good,” it added.
The DACS issued the statement recently to join “the Society of Jesus and the growing number of like-minded individuals and institutions worldwide in urgently seeking an equitable and just production and distribution of vaccines and other medical items that protect from, control the spread of, and treat Covid-19.”
“Thus, DACS agrees to and advocates for India and South Africa’s proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO): a proposal now cosponsored by 58 other governments and favored by about 100 countries, including the Philippines,” it said.
The Jesuit Community said the two countries sought WTO intervention to temporarily waive certain patent rights currently owned by pharmaceutical countries based in Europe and North America for all medical products related to Covid-19 “to ensure that all countries, regardless of wealth, have access to lifesaving medical technologies.”
The Society of Jesus said the proposal has gathered significant support from low- and middle-income countries “and is a crucial step to removing barriers related to intellectual property, which would allow for the rapid expansion of vaccine production, particularly in countries that already have large-scale pharmaceutical firms.”
The DACS said the waiver shall apply to specific global intellectual property protections until the pandemic is under control. This move shall allow for the production of Covid-19 vaccines and drugs on a larger scale and at lower prices, making them more accessible to more people, especially from poorer nations around the world.
Vaccine spree
A BLOOMBERG report in mid-May quoted former Sweden Prime Minister Carl Bildt as saying that “suppressing the virus that’s advancing in India and beyond depends on persuading rich nations to share excess doses and help close a $19-billion funding gap.”
However, the report described as “paltry” the donations to the Covax facility, an initiative to bring the doses more equitably to low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines.
The report further stated that, “Many pledged donations have yet to be fulfilled and some are paltry in the face of the crisis. Sweden promised to donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc.’s vaccine and France intends to share half a million by the middle of June. The US plans to give away just 60 million Astra shots.”
The inequitable access to the vaccines have turned chaotic for many poor countries, as difficulty for governments to access them turned into political discussions, with government critics and opposition accusing their governments of ineptness and mismanagement.
“For a few fortunate countries, optimism is on the rise. The US is preparing to vaccinate middle- and high-school students, a relatively low-risk group, before the start of summer camps and the next school year. Covid deaths could drop to as low as 1,500 per week by June 5,” the Bloomberg report said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecast.
Already, England reported zero Covid deaths in a daily update in mid-May, and the UK government is clearing the way for people to hug and meet indoors at pubs and restaurants. Officials in Europe, including Germany’s health minister, also expressed hope for decreasing cases, the report said.
It was also reported that month that “most of the British will be free once again to hug, albeit cautiously, drink in their pub, sit down for an indoor meal or visit the cinema after a series of lockdowns that imposed the strictest restrictions in peacetime history.”
The biggest public health crisis in a century was accompanied by a drastic extension of state power. During England’s lockdowns, police broke up parties and protests alike, shut down religious services and handed out fines of up to £10,000 ($14,000) to youngsters for partying.
As freedom beckons once more, there is excitement.
“But as India grapples with a deadly surge among its population of 1.4 billion, worries are growing for many other spots all over the planet. Despite declines in the developed world, more than 600,000 new Covid cases are reported globally each day, as stubborn epidemics in countries like Colombia, Brazil and Malaysia burn on. Waiving patents on vaccines, a proposal the Biden administration supports, is promising but won’t address immediate needs for supply,” Bloomberg quoted Ellen ’t Hoen, director of Medicines Law & Policy, a research group based in the Netherlands.
“Anything that exists today should really go to places where the crisis is the most serious,” she said. “Maybe vaccinating teenagers in California shouldn’t be the priority at this point.”
The report said Covax, the vaccine initiative that’s part of the ACT-Accelerator, has shipped just 60 million doses, less than a quarter of the number already administered in the US alone.
Bildt, who was recently appointed as Europe’s special envoy to WHO’s effort to equitably bring the vaccines to poorer countries, said “both Europeans and Americans have ordered, wisely so, quantities that are very substantially in excess of what they need immediately.” Bildt added: “The EU and the US have been talking about it. But we need to go from talking to actually doing it.”
Words to live by
In the end, we are all reminded by the Pontiff’s words, that “no one is saved alone; we can only be saved together.”
The Vatican Covid-19 Commission, as well as the Religious Leaders Declaration of April 27, has strongly advised against “vaccine nationalism, rejecting the commercial exploitation inherent in disputes over patent rights and calling for deeper human solidarity in the fight against the virus,” the DACS added.
The Society of Jesus said that in the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis “invites us to realize that we are all in the same boat, but emphasizes the existing inequalities exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Excessive vaccine stockpiling by wealthy countries further threatens the lives of people around the world, contributing to twice as many deaths than if vaccines were distributed on an equitable, population-based model. Countries such as the UK and the US have purchased as many as three vaccines per person,” the Jesuit Community said.
“We welcome the decision of President Biden to support the waiver. We also welcome comments by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that the EU is ready to discuss the waiver. But the gravity of the situation in countries like India is a reminder that action must be taken urgently. Any delay will be measured in the further suffering and deaths of people, especially the poorest and most marginalized,” it added.
It said out of 220 countries and economies, 194 have now started vaccination, and 26 have not. Of those, seven have received vaccines and could start, and a further five countries should receive their vaccines in the coming days.
“That leaves 14 countries who have not yet begun vaccination, for a range of reasons. Some have not requested vaccines through Covax, some are not yet ready, and some plan to start in the coming weeks and months,” it added.
The Vatican said Pope Francis has affirmed the need to make the now imminent Covid-19 vaccines available and accessible to all, avoiding “pharmaceutical marginality.”
“If there is the possibility of treating a disease with a drug, this should be available to everyone, otherwise an injustice is created.”
‘Removed from reality’
IN Davao City, meanwhile, business reporters castigated as “removed from reality” the suggestion of the UP Octa research group to concentrate 80 percent of the Covid-19 vaccine doses to Metro Manila, 10 percent to the Visayas, and 10 percent to the rest of the Philippines.
“Wow, where is Mindanao? Is there no surge in Mindanao?” reporters participating in the group chat said. “Maybe the agenda of the group is to annihilate Mindanao.”
The Octa research group was later reported to have rectified its statement to deliver available vaccines to places outside the National Capital Region Plus areas with surge in cases.
The research group said that surge in the provinces was likely an offshoot of the surge in Metro Manila that was late in coming. It also warned that the likely reverse trend would happen if the surge in the provinces is not contained.
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The Catholic church, as a very rich organization and a very powerful one is in the best position to buy the vaccine and distribute to their faithful.