10 ms·

US throws out millions of doses of Covid vaccine as world goes wanting

58 points by lxm 5y ago

natchy 5y ago
> Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year Imagine the profits Pfizer is going to have. Hell of a quarter.
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago
  I'm sure that developing and certifying a drug administered to a large percentage of the population is entirely simple and risk free.
  - bad_username 5y ago
    They are not liable for vaccine injuries, so I would call their risk minimal.
- throwawayapples 5y ago
  > Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year .. whether they want it or not ;)
- rebuilder 5y ago
  If making a vaccine against an historic pandemic doesn’t entitle you to get some profit, what does?
  - natchy 5y ago
    Getting the president of a country to push other countries to take the vaccine is next level go-to-market strategy. > some profit. Ha! We’re talking 10s of billions. Personally, I’m waiting for the Monsanto vaccine before I take it.
NikolaeVarius 5y ago
I mean I won't call clickbait but title is intentionally pushing some outrage crap. > In the face of global inequities, it’s not as simple as states donating unused vaccines. The doses already distributed to states can’t be repurposed internationally because of bureaucratic and safety concerns around storing the vaccines correctly. This is alongside a global crisis for shipping anything using cargo ships
- cperciva 5y ago
  Vaccines are small enough and valuable enough to be transported in planes -- by the military if necessary.
  - iszomer 5y ago
    IIRC they all have varying requirements for storage during transport; some require extreme temperature control while others do not.
- silisili 5y ago
  It's absolutely clickbait. The title strongly gives the impression of the US just throwing vaccines in the trash and laughing while others are suffering. The article is much more levelheaded and explains why fairly well, so it's by definition clickbait IMO.
  - systemvoltage 5y ago
    Probably risky to say it here but I think liberal media has two contradictory forces to deal with 1) Can't say anything pro-US due to association with right-wing media 2) Can't remain 100% factual as clickrate metrics dwindle. Not saying they're not factual (mostly they are), just that they have editorial bias that serves the readership while also having to state facts (some of them are pro-US). Edit: @simonh - Agreed, Right wing media is completely off the rails, but not sure we need to compare here. I wasn't advocating it.
    - 5y ago
credit_guy 5y ago
6.64 Billion doses have been administered worldwide so far. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_W...
- simonh 5y ago
  And on the same page, apparently only 2.7% of people in low income countries have been vaccinated.
  - BiteCode_dev 5y ago
    That's weird. Most people live in low income countries, if 6 billions doses have been administrated, that's about half the world with 2 doses. The 2 metrics doesn't seem to go together.
    - MattGaiser 5y ago
      Low income is a lot lower than you are likely thinking. China and India aren’t considered low income. https://g2lm-lic.iza.org/call-phase-iv/list-of-lic/ https://g2lm-lic.iza.org/call-phase-iv/list-of-lic/
      - BiteCode_dev 5y ago
        Ah economic indicators are really strange.
  - pacetherace 5y ago
    Depends on where you count India
xwdv 5y ago
Wanting? The way some people act it seems like those left unvaccinated couldn’t care less about getting a vaccine.
- Cerium 5y ago
  The people left wanting are those in countries without sufficient supply.
  - xwdv 5y ago
    A country can have insufficient supply and a large number of people who do not want it.
lr4444lr 5y ago
A sad pattern too often repeated with a lot of other vital goods.
burlesona 5y ago
For context, as of August the US has donated over 100 million doses to other countries - which is more than any other nation - and per the NYT is in negotiation to supply another 500M doses for the world. But hey the Guardian needs clickbait. 1. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/08/03/1023822839/biden-is-sending-110-million-vaccines-to-nations-in-need-thats-just-a-first-step https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/08/03/1023822...
- pupppet 5y ago
  Don't forgot they 'donated' much of this because the U.S. used its position to secure far more than they needed to hedge their bets. Basically offloading vaccine other countries could have purchased themselves.
  - unanswered 5y ago
    So in other words... The US paid for a bunch of other countries' vaccines? Explain again how this is a bad thing for those countries?
    - throwaway894345 5y ago
      Somehow or another, the US has to be the bad guy. If they don't donate vaccines, they're letting other countries fend for themselves. If they donate vaccines, they should have let other countries pay for them. There's plenty of legitimate criticism for the US government; I'm not sure why people feel the need to invent more.
      - sudosysgen 5y ago
        No one that I'm aware of ever complained that vaccines had to be paid the (low) cost of production. What's at issue is keeping the doses for yourself until you don't need them, instead of sharing the doses at the outset. 500 million dollars of charity while I'm sure is appreciated is worth a lot less than timely vaccinations of the most vulnerable.
dukeofdoom 5y ago
There's very little logical reason to take the vaccine if you are young, fit and healthy. Sadly many Americans are not, at alarming rates, so should take the vaccine. However, strong immune system can deal with the virus. Parts of the Asian world seem to be almost immune to it naturally. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts" - Richard Feynman.
Animats 5y ago
Much of that is just a packaging issue. With 5 or 6 doses to a vial, there's going to be some loss just because the number of people vaccinated doesn't come out even with the vial capacity. Louisiana is listed as losing 224,000 out of 4.4 million doses. That's 5%, which is not too bad, for the whole distribution and vaccination process.
lamontcg 5y ago
> Joe Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year, and has committed to donate several million doses for use abroad. China is up to 1.3 billion vaccine exports while the US is lagging at 176 million. If anyone is vaccinating 70% of the world next year, it is going to be China.

58 points by lxm 5y ago

> Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year Imagine the profits Pfizer is going to have. Hell of a quarter.

NikolaeVarius 5y ago
I'm sure that developing and certifying a drug administered to a large percentage of the population is entirely simple and risk free.
- bad_username 5y ago
  They are not liable for vaccine injuries, so I would call their risk minimal.
throwawayapples 5y ago
> Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year .. whether they want it or not ;)
rebuilder 5y ago
If making a vaccine against an historic pandemic doesn’t entitle you to get some profit, what does?
- natchy 5y ago
  Getting the president of a country to push other countries to take the vaccine is next level go-to-market strategy. > some profit. Ha! We’re talking 10s of billions. Personally, I’m waiting for the Monsanto vaccine before I take it.

NikolaeVarius 5y ago

I mean I won't call clickbait but title is intentionally pushing some outrage crap. > In the face of global inequities, it’s not as simple as states donating unused vaccines. The doses already distributed to states can’t be repurposed internationally because of bureaucratic and safety concerns around storing the vaccines correctly. This is alongside a global crisis for shipping anything using cargo ships

cperciva 5y ago
Vaccines are small enough and valuable enough to be transported in planes -- by the military if necessary.
- iszomer 5y ago
  IIRC they all have varying requirements for storage during transport; some require extreme temperature control while others do not.
silisili 5y ago
It's absolutely clickbait. The title strongly gives the impression of the US just throwing vaccines in the trash and laughing while others are suffering. The article is much more levelheaded and explains why fairly well, so it's by definition clickbait IMO.
- systemvoltage 5y ago
  Probably risky to say it here but I think liberal media has two contradictory forces to deal with 1) Can't say anything pro-US due to association with right-wing media 2) Can't remain 100% factual as clickrate metrics dwindle. Not saying they're not factual (mostly they are), just that they have editorial bias that serves the readership while also having to state facts (some of them are pro-US). Edit: @simonh - Agreed, Right wing media is completely off the rails, but not sure we need to compare here. I wasn't advocating it.
  - 5y ago

credit_guy 5y ago

6.64 Billion doses have been administered worldwide so far. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_W...

simonh 5y ago
And on the same page, apparently only 2.7% of people in low income countries have been vaccinated.
- BiteCode_dev 5y ago
  That's weird. Most people live in low income countries, if 6 billions doses have been administrated, that's about half the world with 2 doses. The 2 metrics doesn't seem to go together.
  - MattGaiser 5y ago
    Low income is a lot lower than you are likely thinking. China and India aren’t considered low income. https://g2lm-lic.iza.org/call-phase-iv/list-of-lic/ https://g2lm-lic.iza.org/call-phase-iv/list-of-lic/
    - BiteCode_dev 5y ago
      Ah economic indicators are really strange.
- pacetherace 5y ago
  Depends on where you count India

xwdv 5y ago

Wanting? The way some people act it seems like those left unvaccinated couldn’t care less about getting a vaccine.

Cerium 5y ago
The people left wanting are those in countries without sufficient supply.
- xwdv 5y ago
  A country can have insufficient supply and a large number of people who do not want it.

lr4444lr 5y ago

A sad pattern too often repeated with a lot of other vital goods.

burlesona 5y ago

For context, as of August the US has donated over 100 million doses to other countries - which is more than any other nation - and per the NYT is in negotiation to supply another 500M doses for the world. But hey the Guardian needs clickbait. 1. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/08/03/1023822839/biden-is-sending-110-million-vaccines-to-nations-in-need-thats-just-a-first-step https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/08/03/1023822...

pupppet 5y ago
Don't forgot they 'donated' much of this because the U.S. used its position to secure far more than they needed to hedge their bets. Basically offloading vaccine other countries could have purchased themselves.
- unanswered 5y ago
  So in other words... The US paid for a bunch of other countries' vaccines? Explain again how this is a bad thing for those countries?
  - throwaway894345 5y ago
    Somehow or another, the US has to be the bad guy. If they don't donate vaccines, they're letting other countries fend for themselves. If they donate vaccines, they should have let other countries pay for them. There's plenty of legitimate criticism for the US government; I'm not sure why people feel the need to invent more.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      No one that I'm aware of ever complained that vaccines had to be paid the (low) cost of production. What's at issue is keeping the doses for yourself until you don't need them, instead of sharing the doses at the outset. 500 million dollars of charity while I'm sure is appreciated is worth a lot less than timely vaccinations of the most vulnerable.

dukeofdoom 5y ago

There's very little logical reason to take the vaccine if you are young, fit and healthy. Sadly many Americans are not, at alarming rates, so should take the vaccine. However, strong immune system can deal with the virus. Parts of the Asian world seem to be almost immune to it naturally. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts" - Richard Feynman.

Animats 5y ago

Much of that is just a packaging issue. With 5 or 6 doses to a vial, there's going to be some loss just because the number of people vaccinated doesn't come out even with the vial capacity. Louisiana is listed as losing 224,000 out of 4.4 million doses. That's 5%, which is not too bad, for the whole distribution and vaccination process.

lamontcg 5y ago

> Joe Biden has vowed to vaccinate 70% of the world in the next year, and has committed to donate several million doses for use abroad. China is up to 1.3 billion vaccine exports while the US is lagging at 176 million. If anyone is vaccinating 70% of the world next year, it is going to be China.