A vaccine for Covid-19 won’t be enough to end the pandemic: Report
Hindustan TimesMedical experts have warned that the volume of vaccine available to fight the coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 in coming years is expected to fall far short of global demand, despite an unprecedented effort to manufacture billions of doses. International health advocates want to avoid a repeat of 2009, when wealthy countries -- including the United States, led by former President Barack Obama -- were at the head of the line for H1N1 swine-flu vaccine, leaving underdeveloped countries with little supply until after the pandemic subsided. In the United States, the federal government agency in charge of emergency vaccine development indicated it is prioritizing domestic concerns -- an “America First” mentality that has shaped much of the Trump administration’s pandemic response. “Right now, we’re focused on the whole-of-America approach required to expedite the availability of vaccines,” Gary Disbrow, acting director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, said in an emailed response to the Post. “Rich countries monopolized the vaccine, poor countries were left behind,” Gavin Yamey, director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health at Duke University, said in a university podcast.