PHM-Exch> Fwd: Bulletin #13: Boosting resistance to pandemic profiteers

Fri Nov 19 13:54:57 PST 2021

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Peoples Health Dispatch <health at peoplesdispatch.org>
Date: Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 10:40 PM
Subject: Bulletin #13: Boosting resistance to pandemic profiteers
To: <ana at phmovement.org>

This fortnight While Big Pharma companies have secured enormous profits
through the sale of Covid-19 vaccines and rich countries proceed to
administer booster shots, the whole African continent has only managed to
vaccinate 10% of its population. Vaccine inequity is becoming vaccine
racism, but attempts to fight it through boosting local research,
development, and production remain blocked. We look at regional vaccine
disparities in our Data speaks section, and through an analysis of Big Pharm

Bulletin #13: Boosting resistance to pandemic profiteers
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/p/09884a36-c2f5-46a5-a7a8-8e672a7401f3/>
By People's Health Dispatch – 19 Nov 2021 – View online →
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/p/09884a36-c2f5-46a5-a7a8-8e672a7401f3/>

This fortnight

While Big Pharma companies have secured enormous profits through the sale
of Covid-19 vaccines and rich countries proceed to administer booster
shots, the whole African continent has only managed to vaccinate 10% of its
population.

Vaccine inequity is becoming vaccine racism, but attempts to fight it
through boosting local research, development, and production remain
blocked. We look at regional vaccine disparities in our *Data speaks *section,
and through an analysis of Big Pharma avoidance
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/vaccine-inequity-persists-as-african-continent-yet-to-surpass-10-vaccination-rate/>
to make technology transfer agreements with poor countries.

How Covid-19 vaccines will be distributed in the months to come depends a
lot on what will happen in the global health and trade arenas. At the end
of November, both the World Health Organization and the World Trade
Organization are holding sessions to discuss a possible Pandemic Treaty
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/the-pandemic-treaty-proposal-expands-global-health-inequities/>
and the TRIPS waiver proposal, respectively.

In this issue, we bring an analysis of the conversations concerning the
Pandemic Treaty, including some of the issues it might cause for low and
middle income countries. We also spoke to Vittorio Agnoletto
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/the-struggle-for-vaccine-equity-intensifies-in-italy/>,
the spokesperson of the Italian committee of the Right to Cure
<http://noprofitonpandemic.eu> campaign, about the reasons why people in
Europe support the TRIPS waiver - unlike their governments.

As the pandemic continues, so do health workers’ actions. In Swaziland
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/08/despite-mass-shooting-and-repression-unions-in-swaziland-continue-struggle-for-rights-and-democracy/>,
nurses remain in the spotlight for their dedication to the people’s
struggle for a democratic and just society. In Kenya
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/health-workers-in-kenya-continue-their-struggle-for-decent-conditions/>,
health workers of all profiles continue to fight an almost decade long
dispute for fairer working conditions.

The extraordinary situation caused by the pandemic did not only have an
impact on those providing care, but on those who need it, too. In a video
interview
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/covid-19-affected-the-treatment-of-tuberculosis-cancer/>,
immunologist Dr. Satyajit Rath explains how Covid-19 affected the treatment
for diseases like tuberculosis and cancer, and why we should focus on
building strong health systems to support the people affected by the long
lockdown.
------------------------------

*Vaccine inequity persists as African continent yet to surpass 10%
vaccination rate
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/vaccine-inequity-persists-as-african-continent-yet-to-surpass-10-vaccination-rate/>*

While the world is discussing ways to move on from the pandemic and return
to normalcy, an entire continent is struggling to get even the first dose
of vaccine, with little concern expressed by international bodies

*The Pandemic Treaty Proposal expands global health inequities
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/the-pandemic-treaty-proposal-expands-global-health-inequities/>*

The World Health Assembly Special Session in November will be considering
the benefits of developing a new international instrument on pandemic
preparedness and response. Rich countries are using the opportunity to
sideline discussions on equity in public health

*The struggle for vaccine equity intensifies in Italy*
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/the-struggle-for-vaccine-equity-intensifies-in-italy/>

The European Union has been at the forefront of the opposition that rich
countries have shown towards the TRIPS waiver proposal for COVID-19 medical
products. However, the EU’s position in the international arena is not
shared by the people of Europe, who wish to see vaccines accessible in the
Global South

*Despite mass shooting and repression, unions in Swaziland continue
struggle for rights and democracy*
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/08/despite-mass-shooting-and-repression-unions-in-swaziland-continue-struggle-for-rights-and-democracy/>

Close to two weeks after security forces fired on nurses and teachers ahead
of a protest, trade unions in Swaziland determinedly continue their fight
for better working conditions, living wages and democratization

*Health workers in Kenya continue their struggle for decent conditions*
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/health-workers-in-kenya-continue-their-struggle-for-decent-conditions/>

Nurses, doctors, and other health workers in Kenya continue to face unsafe
working conditions even after a series of strikes that total over 200 days
of work stoppage
------------------------------

*Video: COVID-19 affected the treatment of tuberculosis, cancer
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/19/covid-19-affected-the-treatment-of-tuberculosis-cancer/>*

What is the long view of COVID-19 as we have seen and are likely to see
going forward? How were various aspects of our life affected by the
pandemic, what are the changes we have had to make, and how has the
treatment of other diseases been affected?
  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBtcOx60HaM&feature=emb_imp_woyt>
------------------------------
Data speaks
Source: Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. *et al.* A global
database of COVID-19 vaccinations. *Nat Hum Behav* (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01122-8
------------------------------
In case you missed it
Statement on the Biden Administration Plan to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine
Manufacturing Capacity
Asia Russell, Health GAP Executive Director, said: “This is a dire global
health emergency, and instead of using their power to compel pharma
companies to share know-how to build capacity and rapidly expand vaccine
manufacturing around the world, the Biden administration is promising
billions more
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
<https://healthgap.org/press/nov21-vaccine-manufacturing-statement/>
35,000 US healthcare workers avert strike : Peoples Dispatch
Workers won their demands just 48 hours before what would have been the
largest healthcare strike in decades
Peoples Dispatch•Monica Cruz
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/15/35000-us-healthcare-workers-avert-strike/>
The South Centre | STATEMENT ON THE DOHA DECLARATION ON TRIPS AND PUBLIC
HEALTH ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY, 14 November 2021
South Centre – an intergovernmental policy research and analysis
institution of developing countries
STATEMENT ON THE DOHA DECLARATION ON TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH ON ITS 20TH
ANNIVERSARY, 14 November 2021
<https://www.southcentre.int/statement-on-the-doha-declaration-on-trips-and-public-health-on-its-20th-anniversary-14-november-2021/#more-17925>
How Hospitals Became Vaults That Hid Evidence of Covid-19’s Toll
In the first months of the pandemic, only a small number of the more than
6,000 hospitals in the U.S. let journalists inside.
The Intercept•Peter Maass
<https://theintercept.com/2021/11/13/covid-pandemic-hidden-toll-hospitals/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=theintercept&fbclid=IwAR1Cxjhs8VwxczO5wtZySYIZjKsrLbyCgYH_L2o-Wv2OSXjAYW1bLNUrqx0>
Liberian health workers organize amidst the pandemic
Liberia’s health workers are waging a dual struggle: battling the COVID-19
pandemic on the one hand, while fighting for their rights and salaries on
the other.
ROAR Magazine•Dounard Bondo
<https://roarmag.org/essays/liberia-health-worker-union/?fbclid=IwAR0c7ftixscW__C8wt4kaDMAsmkaC-kiunAso_vlUMHbMmEzPA6enpCKCD0>
Malnutrition soars as healthcare in Afghanistan is at breaking point | MSF
Malnutrition in Afghanistan is becoming a cause for concern, and already
increasing numbers of cases have been exacerbated by the Taliban’s takeover
and uncertainty in the country.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International•Interview10 November 2021
<https://www.msf.org/malnutrition-soars-healthcare-afghanistan-breaking-point>
TRIPS Waiver Proposal: Big Pharma Steering Discourse Away From Patent
Monopoly | NewsClick
At various global fora, Big Pharma and rich countries have been steadfastly
pushing the focus toward supply-side bottlenecks of vaccines and unequal
distribution of doses in a bid to steer the discourse away from the more
contentious issue of patents and the reluctance of corporates to share
technic…
NewsClick•Richa Chintan
<https://www.newsclick.in/TRIPS-Waiver-Proposal-Big-Pharma-Steering-Discourse-Away-Patent-Monopoly>
*People’s Health Dispatch is an initiative of Peoples Dispatch and the
People's Health Movement*
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