Vaccine Imperialism: The New Face of Colonialism in a Globalized World
Our inaction in addressing vaccine inequities is a global moral catastrophe
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A few days ago I got the notification that I was able to book my first dose for the COVID-19 vaccine. For the past few months, I have been patiently waiting for my turn, as I watched my friends and acquaintances slowly get vaccinated.
Although I am over the moon to be getting my first vaccine much sooner than anticipated, I can’t help but feel uneasy about the way vaccines are being distributed around the world.
Canada has acquired over 154 million vaccines for a population of just under 40 million, which means that it has enough doses for about 400 times its population.
The United States has also allocated more than enough vaccines for its citizens. To be specific, they ordered three times as much for its adult population.
The European Union ordered approximately 1.6 billion doses for an adult population of 375 million people. The United Kingdom has ordered 219 million for a population of 54 million people.
I am no mathematician, but that seems to be a large surplus for the majority of these Western countries.
The current distribution of vaccines are a stark and somber reminder that global health is impacted by colonialism, imperialism, and geopolitical factors that ultimately benefit wealthier, Western countries and industries such as ‘Big Pharma.’
Hoarding of Vaccines by Wealthy Nations
As mentioned above, rich Western nations are buying out billions of vaccines.
While citizens from Canada, the US, EU, and the UK will most likely be able to get vaccinated by the end of this year, billions of people will be left without a vaccine until at least 2022 and even into 2023.
For a bigger picture, wealthy nations have secured approximately 53% of all vaccines, including all of Pfizer/BioNtech doses, for only 14% of the world’s total population. In February, 10 countries had administered 75% of the world’s vaccinations.
On the flip side, Africa, a continent with 1.3 billion people, has only been able to confirm 300 million vaccines for its citizens. In March, the whole continent of Africa had only administered 25 vaccines. 25. Yes, you read that correctly.
By the end of February, the US had administered 50 million vaccines.
25 vaccines vs. 50 million vaccines. That is absolutely preposterous.
Vaccine Patents and Intellectual Property
The US recently supported a push towards waiving the patent rights of vaccines so that they can be rapidly manufactured and distributed to more countries.
But why is this exactly important?
In this day and age, the intellectual property of all medical innovations are protected by patents. This ensures that the makers of these innovations hold the rights to the technology and processes that were used to manufacture them, and vaccines are no different.
However, it is clear that patents allow manufacturers and producers to make more money.
In terms of manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines, they are protected by patents and therefore cannot be replicated or manufactured elsewhere unless approved.
Last year, India and South Africa proposed to drop patents for the vaccine so that it can be distributed faster and manufactured locally.
This makes sense right?
Well, many pharmaceutical companies and Western countries such as the EU and the UK (which is home to BioNtech and Astra-Zeneca, respectively), are vehemently opposed to waiving patents clearly because it would significantly decrease their profits.
However, their argument is that it wouldn’t actually solve vaccine inequities. Patents only offer the blueprint of the vaccine, but not the intimate details of how these are produced. Those opposed say that waiving the patents would not be a viable solution simply because it could potentially result in safety, efficiency, and quality issues that would be more difficult to deal with in the long-run.
However, now that the US is pushing support for patent waives, it is to be seen whether or not this will happen in the future.
Case Study: Israel and Palestine
Earlier this year, the world was watching to see how the vaccine rollout would play out.
Israel was one country that was praised for a successful and effective vaccine campaign that saw the majority of its population get vaccinated. However, there are some serious caveats that need to be discussed.
Enter — Palestine. Without going too much into the ongoing and persistent conflict that has currently captured the world, Palestinians were barred from Israel’s vaccinated rollout.
Palestinians currently live under the oppressive military rule of Israel’s state, and those living in the West Bank and Gaza, were not able to receive vaccines. The disparity was so grave that the UN released a statement regarding the situation in April stating that Israel is responsible for ensuring that equitable access is extended to Palestinians.
Despite the fact that Israelis are beginning to experience life at pre-pandemic levels, millions of Palestinians are still being denied their right to health and access to health care.
At this time, Israel has fully vaccinated close to 57% of its population while Palestine has only been able to vaccinate just over 4% of its population, according to Our World in Data.
This is another prime example of the genocide that is being inflicted upon Palestine at the hands of an oppressive military state, as they continue to fight for their most basic human rights, freedoms, and right to exist.
Truth be told, I have only scratched the surface of how colonialism, imperialism, and geopolitical factors have negatively impacted the majority of the world in the context of administering and distributing vaccines.
And while I will most likely be enjoying a relatively “normal” summer, with sunshine-filled adventures and social interactions, it will come at the expense of billions of people. It is not a pill I swallow lightly.
The health and economic risks that will inevitably come from the behaviour and actions of Western nations and big corporations will be severe. Gavin Yamey, a professor in public health from Duke’s Global Health Institute, states that it will potentially prolong the pandemic for an additional 7 years.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think our society and communities will be able to efficiently and effectively handle a pandemic for another 7 years, without more significant losses.
