WHO urges Britain to pause covid jabs after treating the vulnerable

[Jay2020]

Link

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/30/who-urges-britain-to-pause-covid-jabs-after-treating-vulnerable

I am beyond broken if this means we can't get to any kind of normality.

I’m really surprised by my own reaction to this. Intellectually, I absolutely get the need to vaccinate the whole world, and emotionally, I’d always want to help people in developing countries.

But when it comes to this, I’m ashamed to say I thought ‘no fucking way’. I have really, really suffered during this pandemic. I want my life back. That’s the quid pro quo for everything we’ve done.

Haha @meditrina yes that is a good point re: Bill Gates 😁

@marbellamarc
Clearly it's not 'human nature' because there are plenty of people with a different opinion.
It's learned. You have learned to be selfish.

The stupid thing is, if we really want what is best for our families and those in our country then we must see the bigger picture and tackle the problem as a whole.

It's quite literally the definition of short sighted.

Obviously Ursula van der Leyen gave them a call for a friendly chat. Next thing you know, the vaccines will be in Germany. Not in Africa.

When we vaccinate the vulnerable its not back to normal , we don't go back to how it was a year ago , that has been made very clear.
If we vaccinate the vulnerable but still have high numbers then what if it mutates again.
These sort of decisions can only be made in a couple months time when we know if vaccinating the vulnerable is enough.
You can't make a promise now that in 1/2 months you will change your current plan as we don't know fully what will happen and we are a couple months at least away from all the vulnerable having 2 jabs.
Maybe our gap between doses will show good results and therefore would mean other countries could follow or it could go opposite and we have to change our plan.
Which is why I think its too soon to make promises and something that should be revisited , at the moment we have one of the worse death rates so surely we should be cracking on for now .

As a small country with a new variant to deal with and the economic effects of Brexit on top I think we should prioritise getting everyone vaccinated first and then be generous with spare vaccine. We have enough to deal with and the government have had the foresight to order more than enough vaccine so we should use it then help other countries. Better to have people back in work and education and getting on with some business rather than nothing at all whilst the rest of the world catches up. The international trade can follow when the rest of the world catches up and by then we may have forged some trade deals to help us (indeed access to our vaccines might even be a sweetener in a trade deal).

Well good thing we don't have to do what WHO says.

Being the biggest contributor to covax already, why aren't they speaking out aboutball the other rich countries who have contributed less.

We need to gdt bsck to normal as possible, people are suffering with their mental health, fitness, jobs etc. So no we shan't stop vaccinating our population.

@BolloxtoGender Great response there, thanks for that.

Clearly it's not 'human nature' because there are plenty of people with a different opinion.
It's learned. You have learned to be selfish.

I said it's pretty innate to focus on your loved ones first.

Id say

Good point, @MiddlesexGirl .

highest covid deaths, some on MN “The whole world is laughing at us”.
Action taken in form of vaccine acquisition and roll-out: “The whole world thinks we’re selfish”.

It's okay to be selfish, honestly, we all are.

But don't you dare then call someone else selfish for putting them and their loved ones first if it doesn't meet your definition of the rules.

Because as it's turns out, we're all just looking out for ourselves and those closest to us. We're all selfish. Own and and don't be a hypocrite.

Looks like a media storm whipped up to cause false division.

@marbellamarc

Surely this could only be advised if they list who should get it first is the same in every country.

Yes exactly.

Hungary's vaccinating its Olympic athletes first: www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1103621/hungary-covid-19-vaccinations-begin

"South Africa is awaiting delivery of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that are being produced in India. Reports in the media suggest that the country is paying almost twice as much as the EU per dose."

It's being sold at cost price so I take that to mean that SA are paying the normal amount but the EU haggled for a lower price (as has been widely reported). SA were due their delivery this week this week I thought?

As a small country with a new variant to deal with and the economic effects of Brexit on top I think we should prioritise getting everyone vaccinated first and then be generous with spare vaccine.
We aren't a small country.

Tell you what guys, why don't we do a Trump and leave the WHO?

@marbellamarc

This thread is ridiculous, I actually can't quite believe it. Months and months of posters screaming that people are selfish and how important it is to save lives, when now it's clear that by "saving lives" they actually meant "reducing the risk of me and my loved ones getting covid".

Of course people want to reduce the risk to themselves & their loved ones first. It's human nature.

Right well the possibility of losing both mine and DH's jobs and the effects of my young DC's not interacting with other children for months on end are far bigger risks to me and my loved ones than covid. So if its absolutely fine and "human nature" to prioritise my family then what have I been making all these sacrifices for the last 10 months for?

It is nice to be nice but in this case actually it's important to put your own oxygen mask on before helping the next person. You think all the Aid workers don't get their jabs first? Of course they do. Because we are no use to others if we are sick, dead or dying ourselves. Once things are sorted at home we can send our forces to roll our vaccination programmes and build hospitals and all of that, but we can't expect them to do that if they or their family are sick, dead, dying, or at serious risk.

Also it is important that there are counties with high levels of vaccination because it gives us a better idea of the efficacy on a population level. Not only that but because of our over population and position (as a hub of business and travel, unable to have a hard border, etc.) then we are vulnerable, which is of course how the new strain probably developed.

I don't like it, it makes me uncomfortable to say that as British citizens my family should be vaccinated before ECV groups elsewhere, but unfortunately that is how these things always are. Do you feel guilty vaccinating your child because their are children dying of preventable illnesses in the slums of India? Do you feel guilty about feeding your child when their are children dying of starvation in sub-Saharan Africa? Do you feel guilty about your child having a safe home when their are children living in refuge camps in Syria? I feel for all those people, don't get me wrong. It must be horrendous. I will always do what I can for others, but not at the expense of me and mine. I would not give away my child's medicine, food, clothes etc, if they needed them. This is not about wants. We need to be vaccinated as a population in order for life to go back to even vaguely normal. And once it does, then we are in the right position to help others.

We are incredibly privileged in Britain to not have to live with large numbers of polio, measles, TB, Etc. Cases. That's not by accident. That's because our government and public health policies put its own citizens first. As it should. It's not about only thinking of Britain though either.

At the moment we have lots of half vaccinated elderly people, which makes me feel very anxious if we don't get at least the other half of those vaccines.

The UK has helped to raise $1 billion for the coronavirus COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) through match-funding other donors, which combined with the £548 million of UK aid pledged will help distribute one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to 92 developing countries this year.

This vital investment will help stop the spread of the disease and prevent future waves, helping to build back better from coronavirus globally. The UK is using our aid budget, scientific expertise and diplomatic leverage to strengthen global health.

@Perfect28 what's the list then? How do you decide it? The "vulnerable" is pretty vague.

What about the impact of longer lockdowns, economic uncertainty, cancelled ops, etc

It's not black & white by any stretch.

Hungary vaccinating athletes first?

SEE ?! Other countries just want the vaccine, they are not wringing their hands over vulnerable people. Poland have prioritised actors and officials; Germany has MPs ahead of the vulnerable.

Yeah...on this on the WHO (and the EU that are probably bleating to them - bit of a coincidence the timing) can swivel.

The UK has contributed a lot to covax, way more than some other, rich, countries. So are already doing more than their part to ensure vaccines get to struggling countries.

I don’t think the government would dare either. One thing the Torys are good at is reading the room.

I thought we had exceeded the WHOs demands for donations already?

@MaxNormal Are you a parent? Is this what you teach your children? 'It's OK to be selfish'?

Brilliant.

Again, if we want our country and loved ones to be safe we must consider ourselves to be part of a wider, global community.
Nobody is suggesting we don't vaccinate our vulnerable, simply that we shouldn't vaccinate our healthy whilst others suffer.

I honestly wonder how you would all feel if the tables were turned? If we were the misfortunate ones? I imagine you would have slightly different opinions somehow.