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.

We also have pressure from Tory MPs to re-open the economy, and just take remaining cases and deaths on the chin.

I'd say thank goodness for that, PigletJohn, but when it comes to the next vote there'll almost certainly be another bounce in the numbers or even a terrible new variant "discovered"

[quote Dongdingdong]People chat a lot of shit about WHO. I think a lot of people have been taken in over the past year by Trumpian propaganda without realising.

@LangClegsInSpace what an ill-informed comment. Suggestion: go educate yourself, starting with this:

apnews.com/article/who-china-act-quicker-stop-coronavirus-c9204041b189cebbeec84559c03529f4[/quote]
China is a secretive dictatorship. Everyone knows that, including WHO.

WHO now at last has researchers on the ground, investigating the origins of the virus, to the extent that China permits. It has taken a year of intense negotiations and extreme diplomacy to gain this access. We all know we won't get all the answers but the hope is we might get some.

WHO don't have an army, they can't march into any country and demand information or demand compliance.

From your own link: “The bottom line is WHO has no powers to enforce anything,” she said. “All it can do is ask to be invited in.”

When Trump defunded WHO and declared plans to leave altogether WHO did not criticise the US or Trump. Instead they praised US scientists and encouraged ongoing collaboration - exactly the same as they did with China. This is how they work.

The article you have posted appears to be berating WHO for not declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) one week earlier than they did. This was last January. How seriously were you taking this clusterfuck one year ago today? Probably you were one of those people who didn't know what a PHEIC was, probably you had no idea that WHO declared a PHEIC at the end of January last year. Probably you still don't know what a PHEIC is or why it's important but I wouldn't mind betting you were one of the people banging on about 'Declare a Pandemic!!1!!1!' a whole two months later.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I was being facetious

Ah - apologies, BelleHathor; for a dreadful moment there I thought you meant it!!

Though I doubt the regime would require an entire year to get rid of anything or anyone inconvenient

No need to apologise! It's definitely all gone.... though I was 🤯 a couple of week ago when the American State department said the quiet part out loud: 'Wuhan Institute of Virology has not been transparent nor consistent about its work with RaTG13 or other similar viruses, including possible 'gain of function' experiments to enhance transmissibility or lethality,' ge.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/

Everyone knows it’s not out of altruism. But saying they’re not doing anything is not true.

No.

Once the UK has offered the vaccine to all adults, then it will be time to start offering our vaccines to poorer countries, free of charge.
"Apply your own oxygen mask first before helping others"--that's always the rule. We're all eager to help poorer countries but we need to sort out our own (quite serious) COVID19 situation first before we can do that.

I know the UK response to the pandemic has mostly not been great, but we HAVE done a good job of getting our vaccine ducks in a row efficiently, getting started early and moving quickly. We will therefore be in a position to start helping poor countries much earlier than many other countries. We are already doing our bit by moving rapidly and starting early. If the WHO wants to help the poor, how about putting some pressure on those countries (many of the East Asian countries like Japan, for example, the EU, Australia and NZ) which are making a much later start, and asking them to move a bit quicker so that they can start helping the world's poor at an earlier stage as well?

Also, the WHO can piss off, given the poor job it has done in managing this pandemic. The WHO was developed in part to deal with situations like this. It has not exactly covered itself in glory. This time last year the WHO was jumping up and down telling countries to keep their borders open as the virus swirled through the world's airports. Is anyone at the WHO ever going to made accountable for this decision, or even consider offering an apology?

@langclegsinspace when did the who advise to close borders do you know ? Also when did they advise masks ?

People chat a lot of shit about WHO. I think a lot of people have been taken in over the past year by Trumpian propaganda without realising.

My opinion on Trump is that he is a giant orange pig in human disguise. And I am still angry with the poor decisions taken by the WHO again and again during this pandemic.

Buzztothemoon

It’s also self-interested on our part. The longer the pandemic goes on the more likely it is that the virus will mutate in ways that mean the vaccines we do have are less effective. And ultimately no amount of border controls can stop them spreading for ever. So our best long term hope is a proper global vaccination programme. Vaccinating vulnerable people is helpful because it protects people most at risk but it should also suppress infection rates massively. The top 9 groups in the UK is over 50% of the adult population. So it’s not just a moral stance (that it’s better to prioritise the most vulnerable worldwide rather than healthy adults in richer nations) but it’s in our interest to cut transmission overall. This would do both.

^THIS^
Even if you don’t give a £&@@ about people dying in less we’ll off countries (most of which are less well off because our wonderful ancestors plundered their resources during colonialism) it is in our best interests to share the vaccine and spread immunity. As well as being the ONLY moral choice to make.

While we’re squabbling about doses, China’s out there winning hearts and minds in the countries you don’t give a fuck about now, but you might have to give a fuck about in a few years’ time.

As is Russia.

@HeddaGarbled

Still doesn't explain why the UK should be singled out (I see that the words were twisted in usual Guardian fashion, but still some here would agree with this 'recommendation')

Have China and Russia's vaccines completed Phase III?

Given our death toll the WHO can piss off on this one

People chat a lot of shit about WHO. I think a lot of people have been taken in over the past year by Trumpian propaganda without realising.

Nah. I have a close relative who works directly with WHO and has overridden some of their decisions in the covid response re the UK. They really aren't that good.

We are sharing the vaccine that has been said

Have China and Russia's vaccines completed Phase III?

The countries who are grateful for them are too desperate to have the luxury of waiting.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/brazil-manaus-coronavirus-mass-graves

@HeddaGarbled

From the BBC: ‘Analysts point to China's bid to win the vaccine diplomacy race, which has also reportedly seen China's President Xi Jinping pledge to set aside $2bn for the African continent, while also offering Latin American and Caribbean countries a $1bn loan to buy vaccines’

This has not been a secret. Do you not ever read or watch the news at all?

Disturbing right This is where the WHO should be focusing attention but it won’t

[quote HeddaGarbled]Have China and Russia's vaccines completed Phase III?

The countries who are grateful for them are too desperate to have the luxury of waiting.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/brazil-manaus-coronavirus-mass-graves[/quote]
Not sure where you're getting your information from but Brazil is currently using two vaccines (yes, one developed by a Chinese company, the other is the Oxford/AstraZaneca vaccine) that have both completed phase III trials.

And they're purchasing them from a Chinese pharmaceutical company, just like the UK is purchasing theirs from a German one. Nothing to be "grateful" for.

In fact, if Brazil is going to be grateful to anyone then it will be the Covax initiative, which is reportedly going to be sending 10-14 million doses of the Oxford vaccine to Brazil starting next week. And as everyone keeps pointing out, that's a program the UK has put a LOT of money into.

@Mintjulia

Given our levels of infection, we need to keep vaccinating the uk population. The UK can only help other countries once we able to re-open the economy and generate funds. Our medics can't help abroad if the NHS is on it's knees.

This^^

I think if the vaccine/s stop people spreading it then everyone should have it. The problem is that lockdowns etc are having a bad effect on us Finding ways of halting/reducing the spread has to be achieved
in any way we can

@HeddaGarbled

Yes, I'm aware about Manaos, it's horrific

However, neither Sinovac or Sputnik V have officially completed phase III trials. I hope the vaccines work, but they may as well be injecting saline solution for all we know unless there is transparency

Second, as a PP said, countries are purchasing these vaccines from Russia and China, they are not being given away.

I understand Sputnik is being sold for 10 USD, much higher price than the Oxford one?

So there's nothing generous or 'friendly' about these offerings.

Also, the WHO can piss off, given the poor job it has done in managing this pandemic. The WHO was developed in part to deal with situations like this. It has not exactly covered itself in glory. This time last year the WHO was jumping up and down telling countries to keep their borders open as the virus swirled through the world's airports. Is anyone at the WHO ever going to made accountable for this decision, or even consider offering an apology?

True

The article makes no mention of the fact that developing countries on the whole, with an exemption of South American countries and say India, are not the ones with the mahoosive covid problem.
Asian continent, and African continent are not generally the problem, nor much of Australasia, the west, and continent of America is.
[yes I know, I may not have used to most up to date geographical terms, so shoot me now].

and have many BAME who may refuse

oops, that last line is not supposed to be there. I cant get rid of it, can I?