4 ms·

That is Operation Warp Speed[1] and it is a very large investment by the US Government to find a vaccine. You should be thankful that the United States has the

That is Operation Warp Speed[1] and it is a very large investment by the US Government to find a vaccine. You should be thankful that the United States has the money to invest in this global research, instead of spreading FUD that the USA is blocking others from getting treatment. In fact, the Oxford trial that was announced today was heavily funded by this program, with the NHS being some of the first to be vaccinated if the treatment is approved. How dare the USA help the NHS, amirite? Seriously, would you rather the USA didn't make this investment? What is your optimal outcome here? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed

nkingsy 6y ago
I assume you’re responding to “at the expense of”. My understanding is that the US bought almost the whole global supply of remdesivir, among other things, which will make it harder for other entities searching for a vaccine/treatment to operate. OWS is targeting producing 300 million vaccines as quickly as possible, which seems very “America first”. I don’t really place a value judgement on it, but I stand by the statement. I find it strange I haven’t heard more about this, only that trump is “ignoring” COVID. I was pointing out that this narrative will really backfire if OWS produces a viable vaccine before the election.
- salmon30salmon 6y ago
  To be fair, Remdesivir is an under-patent medicine designed by an American company, it isn't all that outlandish that the USA would procure as much as possible. The "among other things" is doing a _lot_ of heavy lifting in your statement. I do not see any evidence that the USA bought anything that would limit the ability for other countries to develop a vaccine. Only to use Remdesivir as a treatment. Which, I can see both sides of that really. I also don't have a problem with the USA targeting 300 mil doses through OWS. They simply mean they will buy that many, not that other countries can't buy more etc. As I said, the leading vaccine right now is from a British university and a Swedish/British company funded by the USA (in part). I think it is totally fair for the USA to make a large investment and "pre-order" 300 million doses. If they were ordering 600 million doses and demanding that the patent be transferred to a US company, that would be shady. But yeah, OWS is certainly part of Trump's re-election campaign. I despise Trump, and I hope OWS is successful well before November. If it gets him re-elected so be it. People are dying.
emn13 6y ago
Not complaining about OWS here; but for context it's worth noting that this vaccine was started on jan 10, months before OWS existed. Of course, that was the cheap bit: the research. The clinical trials and scaling unusually quickly will likely be much more expensive; and where that billion will hopefully turn into something useful.

nkingsy 6y ago

I assume you’re responding to “at the expense of”. My understanding is that the US bought almost the whole global supply of remdesivir, among other things, which will make it harder for other entities searching for a vaccine/treatment to operate. OWS is targeting producing 300 million vaccines as quickly as possible, which seems very “America first”. I don’t really place a value judgement on it, but I stand by the statement. I find it strange I haven’t heard more about this, only that trump is “ignoring” COVID. I was pointing out that this narrative will really backfire if OWS produces a viable vaccine before the election.

salmon30salmon 6y ago
To be fair, Remdesivir is an under-patent medicine designed by an American company, it isn't all that outlandish that the USA would procure as much as possible. The "among other things" is doing a _lot_ of heavy lifting in your statement. I do not see any evidence that the USA bought anything that would limit the ability for other countries to develop a vaccine. Only to use Remdesivir as a treatment. Which, I can see both sides of that really. I also don't have a problem with the USA targeting 300 mil doses through OWS. They simply mean they will buy that many, not that other countries can't buy more etc. As I said, the leading vaccine right now is from a British university and a Swedish/British company funded by the USA (in part). I think it is totally fair for the USA to make a large investment and "pre-order" 300 million doses. If they were ordering 600 million doses and demanding that the patent be transferred to a US company, that would be shady. But yeah, OWS is certainly part of Trump's re-election campaign. I despise Trump, and I hope OWS is successful well before November. If it gets him re-elected so be it. People are dying.

emn13 6y ago

Not complaining about OWS here; but for context it's worth noting that this vaccine was started on jan 10, months before OWS existed. Of course, that was the cheap bit: the research. The clinical trials and scaling unusually quickly will likely be much more expensive; and where that billion will hopefully turn into something useful.