Even before the first proven effective drug was developed, the WHO sounded the alarm against "vaccine nationalism", warning that until the whole planet was safe from the coronavirus, there would really be none. Now, experts point out that the emergence of new variants, such as B.1.1.529, could have been prevented if the richer states shared the millions of vaccine doses they had secured with the developing world.
Today, the entire planet is shaken by new variant which was first located in South Africa and has already managed, as everything shows, to make several trips around the world. One country after another announces travel restrictions, while the lack of knowledge about the new executive makes any scenario possible in terms of measures.
In short, despite the fact that multiple vaccines have been developed with proven efficacy against previous coronavirus strains, the atmosphere has suddenly begun to resemble… 2020. And the fact that scientists have spoken of the "most worrying coronavirus variant to date" , certainly does not comfort anyone.
Responsibilities in the EU and Britain
Experts such as Tim Birley of Global Justice Now told the Guardian that the appearance of the variant was "entirely possible to prevent" and that the conditions that led to its appearance were created when countries such as Britain "actively prevented" equal access for developing states in vaccines.
"For more than a year now, South Africa, Botswana and most countries have been calling on world leaders to lift patents on coronavirus vaccines, as well as tests and treatments, so that they can produce the quantity themselves. who are in need. It is a crucial measure that will be discussed next week at the World Trade Organization conference. But so far, Britain and the EU have recklessly blocked the progress of this debate. "
"If and when this variant begins to tear the planet apart, remember that the British government led the resistance to a plan that could stop it."
Bridging the vaccination gap is urgent
Speaking to Bloomberg, Ian McKay, an associate professor of virology at the University of Queensland, said: "Viruses have a tremendous talent for escaping immunity. "If there are large populations that remain vulnerable, we remain trapped just like before." With more than 3,4 billion unvaccinated bodies circulating around the globe in which the virus can settle undisturbed, it is more urgent than ever to bridge the gap between vaccination inequality.
A matter of interest
Dr. "I am very angry at the moment," Agioande Alakiya, co-chair of the Alliance for Vaccine Delivery in Africa, told the British newspaper. Even if the moral arguments did not matter to them, even if we have lost the sense of common morality and common humanity, then even from the point of view of the enlightened interest they should have surely understood that if they did not vaccinate the planet as much it was becoming more equal and faster, we would see variations unfold without knowing if we could control them ".
However, Professor Azra Ghani, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said new variants could occur in any environment where the virus is prevalent, including in high-vaccinated Britain.
Low vaccination rates in Botswana and South Africa
Botswana, one of the first countries to detect the new coronavirus variant, has worked hard on its vaccination program. But there are many who remain unvaccinated. According to the WHO, a total of 25 doses had been administered in Botswana on November 1.016.989, with Reuters reporting that 38,3% of the population had received at least one dose. In South Africa, 24,1% are estimated to have completed the first vaccination schedule.
Will the third dose boomerang?
Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol and a member of the Joint Vaccination and Immunity Committee (JCVI), has made an extremely worrying prediction for the future of the West. He told the Guardian that if rich countries continue to vaccinate people who are not vulnerable to the virus over and over again, it is likely that their strategy will "boomerang", leading to increased deaths and economic disaster.
Besides, already from August Dr. Sumia Swaminathan, head of WHO science, said he was "afraid" that booster doses "would just lead to more variations".
"There is no reason for altruism in this matter. It is a pure interest. "But somehow politicians continue to fail to understand this and all of us who advise them get the answer that anything outside the borders does not belong to our jurisdiction," he explains.
The role of skepticism towards vaccines
However, Danny Altman, a professor of immunology at Imperial College, points out that South Africa currently has an excess of vaccines - but also many citizens who are reluctant to get them.
Research has even shown that the problem is greater among whites, with a study conducted in August showing that just over half were willing to be vaccinated, compared to 75% of black adults.
But Alakiya does not consider these issues to be related. "If South Africa - and the rest of Africa - had access to vaccines at the same time as the rich countries of the world, there would have been no uncontrolled circulation and the consequent mutations in the virus," he said.
With information from Guardian, Bloomberg, Business Insider
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