Wealthy nations, pharmaceuticals must share vaccines with poorer states, MSF
STAFF WRITER
EQUITABLE access and distribution of vaccines is more critical now than ever, says Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep across southern and sub-Saharan Africa, aggravated by a highly infectious variant of the virus in strained, fragile healthcare systems.
Accessing vaccines for low- and middle-income countries will remain a serious problem unless systemic issues linked to protectionist agreements between wealthy nations and pharma corporations are dealt with, said the global health organisation.
It has now called on wealthy states and pharmaceutical corporations for solutions that will urgently ensure that all countries can access effective vaccines quickly and affordably – before it is too late.
Their call comes after the latest initial data indicated that some Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective than others against the 501Y.V2 variant first discovered in South Africa.
Following a scramble, the South African government acquired the Johnson & Johnson trial vaccine to ensure its most-at-risk front-line healthcare workers get protection in a limited roll-out as part of an implementation study, starting last week.
South Africa is now offering to share its initial unused vaccine consignment with the African Union (AU) for use in appropriate countries where the 501Y.V2 variant is not predominant.
Dr Tom Ellman, director of MSF’s Southern Africa Medical Unit said the emergence of new Covid-19 variants should be a major consideration in determining the allocation of vaccines to countries around the world. “We have already seen South Africa forced to halt and adapt its planned vaccine roll-out of one particular vaccine due to findings indicating decreased efficacy against the dominant 501Y.V2 variant,” said Ellman.
“Truly equitable vaccine allocation and distribution should mean that countries are able to acquire not just any vaccines but the right vaccines - adapted to the presence of new variants and to contextual factors - at the right time and at the right price. Unless the leaders of wealthy states and pharmaceutical corporations support this, and quickly, we risk generating new pandemics of vaccine-resistant Covid-19. Travel bans will not stop this but equity and solidarity might,” said Ellman.
To date, more than 174 million people globally have been vaccinated, and almost none of these have been in Africa, said MSF.
Many developed countries have ordered two to three times as many vaccines as are actually required by their populations, and some are even set to receive vaccines from Covax, which many developing countries exclusively rely on for vaccine access.
These same countries have already vaccinated many of their healthcare workers and have for months blocked efforts led by South Africa and India to waive intellectual property protections on Covid-19 medical products, including vaccines, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The move could enable low- and middle-income countries to produce or access these products more affordably through technology transfers, increased local manufacturing and price competition in the medium term.
MSF’s Regional Advocacy Co-ordinator Claire Waterhouse said: “What we are witnessing right now is an unacceptable failure of humanity and the global response. We denounce countries that hoard vaccines and who have started to immunise low-risk groups since it comes at the expense of developing countries who haven’t even started vaccinating front-line healthcare workers in health facilities already stretched to the breaking point.”
MSF has been working on Covid-19 treatment and prevention in different communities throughout southern Africa – in Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe – since the beginning of the pandemic.
Philip Aruna, MSF’s Regional Operations manager in Southern Africa said their staff witnessed the severe impact of the “second wave” on this region, its people and its health systems.
“In South Africa, there weren’t enough healthcare workers in many of the hotspots and hospitals struggled to meet the demands for care.
“While the wave of new infections is starting to slow in some of these countries, we are now preparing for the possibility of future surges of Covid-19 infections as the virus continues to adapt and spread. A quick roll-out of the most-effective-in-context vaccines would have a significant impact on reducing future infections and deaths among healthcare workers and most at-risk-groups. However, most countries in southern Africa, and indeed the developing world, have yet to receive the quantities of vaccines they need,” Aruna concludes.
MSF has urged governments of wealthy nations that have immunised their front-line healthcare workers and high- risk groups to now help low- and middle-income countries by sharing their supplies with Covax.
The organisation also asked pharmaceutical corporation leaders to pause or stop bilateral agreements that would oversupply wealthy nations hoarding vaccines in order to prioritise the supply of vaccines to the Covax facility or bilateral deals for countries yet to vaccinate their healthcare workers and high-risk groups.
MSF called on Covax leaders, GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the World Health Organization and donor states, to take immediate steps for speedy transparency on Covax supply schedules.
“They must act now! Every day Covid-19 vaccines are delayed is another day that healthcare workers in southern Africa and developing countries remain at great risk while they continue to care for the sick,” said Waterhouse.
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Cape Times
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