Health and infectious disease experts urge the Canadian government to focus on global vaccine equality, not Travel bansas it is taking action to respond to news about the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The doctors and a human rights policy expert who spoke to CBC this week said the federal government can and should increase vaccine shipments to low-income countries earlier than planned, encourage vaccine production, and advocate for clearance rules from pharmaceutical companies Vaccine prescriptions.
And this is in everyone’s best interests, they said.
“If you don’t want to be altruistic … and if you just want to be selfish, it is in your best interest that everyone on this planet be vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Dr. Ross Upshur, Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Toronto.
After Omicron’s news broke, Canada announced plans to restrict travel from countries in southern Africa, a region where cases of the new worrying variant have been reported. Critics immediately questioned the move – because it did it became clear that the variant also appeared in different parts of the world and in Canada.
Vaccination goals are not achieved
Infectious disease specialists have long said that the way to prevent the spread and mutation is to make sure countries around the world have enough vaccines for a significant portion of their populations. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set itself the goal of having 70 percent of the world’s population fully vaccinated by mid-2022.
But the world is far from that goal with around 40 countries – most of them in Africa – where fewer than 10 percent of their population are vaccinated against COVID-19, according to local governments’ vaccination data as of Wednesday Our world in data.
CLOCK | The South African doctor talks about the symptoms of Omicron:
The symptoms of the new variant are so far rather mild, says a South African doctor
Most patients who test positive for the new variant of the coronavirus are young and can be treated at home, says Dr. Angelique Coetzee, Chair of the South African Medical Association and member of the South African Vaccination Board. 10:13
“You are right to protect the people in your countries, but then I would also warn you and say that no one will sleep safely at night, not before Africa has been vaccinated,” said Dr. Angelique Coetzee, one of the first doctors to discover the Omicron variant in patients in South Africa.
Canada needs to do more – and quickly
Throughout the pandemic, Canada has provided vaccines and financial support through global efforts like the to other countries COVAX Initiative that pools funds from wealthier countries to buy vaccines for those countries and ensure that low and middle income countries have access.
The initiative had set itself the goal of administering at least two billion doses worldwide by the end of 2021. However, the latest September supply forecast showed that it is only expected to have access to 1.425 billion doses this year. COVAX is struggling to source vaccines as many of the factories that make the syringes fulfill orders from rich countries that paid the highest dollar for their doses.
The advent of omicron shows Canada needs to do more and sooner, said the policy expert, who spoke to CBC. First on the list should be to send as many doses as possible to countries with lower vaccination rates as soon as possible, he said.
“Until COVAX has access to the doses it needs, we will continue to see this huge gap,” said Ian Thomson of the Oxfam Canada charity.
Officials posed next to Canada’s first donated doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which arrived in three African countries on Sept. 2. The cans were part of a Canadian commitment to COVAX. (Gavi)
Ottawa has pledged to donate the equivalent of 200 million vaccines (in actual doses and money to buy cans) through COVAX by the end of 2022.
As of Wednesday, 8.3 million of the vaccine doses donated by Canada had been delivered through COVAX, and Canada’s financial contributions to the initiative raised approximately 87 million doses of vaccine for low and middle income countries, according to Global Affairs.
“There are many ingredients involved in vaccines. And I think in the case of Canada we actually stepped up and the Canadian government offered COVAX financial support, ”said Thomson.
“What Canada has not done is actually meeting those commitments.”
He pointed out a report published in October by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, which included Oxfam. heard Of the 40 million doses Canada promised at the start of the pandemic, only eight percent – or about 3.3 million – of those doses had been given.
In an email response to CBC questions on Wednesday, Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Geneviève Tremblay said Canada is donating cans “on an ongoing basis” as soon as they are approved by manufacturers.
CLOCK | The infectious disease specialist in Toronto says anyone around the world can be provided with vaccines:
Vaccine equity top priority for infectious disease specialists
Dr. Isaac Bogoch says it’s important to understand the new variant of coronavirus and it’s just as important to vaccinate people around the world. (Credit: AP Photo / Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) 1:12
Canada has nearly six million doses in its national inventory and more, according to the Canadian Health Authority Million cans which have reportedly been wasted since launch – and critics say these should go to countries in need.
“Building up a supply of vaccines does nothing but create liability for the vaccine’s expiration date and spoilage, which is a tragedy given this global situation,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, Infectious Disease Physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Associate Professor at McMaster University.
“We have to be very aware that cans that come on our floor must have a need,” said Chagla. “Otherwise you shouldn’t come here.”
Experts say expanding vaccine production is also an important factor in getting closer to vaccine equity. (Hannah Beier / Reuters)
More manufacturers will lead to more vaccines
Thomson said Ottawa could also help equity equity in vaccines by joining efforts to change the intellectual property rights (IP) that vaccine manufacturers can use to keep their prescriptions and manufacturing technologies confidential.
“We’ve been pushing the World Trade Organization for a few months for rules to be relaxed so that more manufacturers can get into the game of COVID vaccine-making, especially in developing countries,” said Thomson. “Production can take place there and be distributed more quickly to these population groups.”
The current8:09 pmOmicron variant drives demands for vaccine equity and waiver of patents
The advent of the Omicron coronavirus variant is triggering new calls for vaccine equity, including calls to temporarily forego patents related to vaccine production. 8:09 pm
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that his government will consider surrendering intellectual property rights from these vaccine manufacturers to improve access, but a plan supported by other countries known as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) repeal proposal – did not support – dismantle intellectual property protection for vaccines.
Tremblay, spokesman for Global Affairs, said Wednesday that the federal government was participating in discussions on the removal of intellectual property protection.
Canada has donated up to $ 15 million to build the South Africa Technology Transfer Hub, which could see the regional development and production of mRNA vaccines and technologies, Tremblay said.
Syringes and other accessories needed
WHO warned last month that there could be a shortfall of one to two billion syringes, needed for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, over the next year, and UNICEF Canada President David Morley told CBC that such supplies are in many Countries are already in great demand.
Canada has allocated $ 70 million for COVID-19 support and delivery envelope “to help countries efficiently and effectively introduce, deliver and distribute in the country,” Tremblay said.
It has also pledged to cover the nearly $ 10 million donated by individual Canadians through UNICEF Canada to the #GiveAVax fund to help cover the cost of transporting vaccines and training health workers.
The President of UNICEF Canada said Wednesday that syringes were urgently needed to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine in low-income countries. (Lars Hagberg / The Canadian Press)
Providing resources to ensure that staff are trained in how to administer the vaccines and that culturally appropriate explanations are available to combat misinformation and vaccination reluctance is an important part of vaccination equity, said Dr. Anna Banerji, Infectious Disease Specialist at the Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
“We need to work with countries around the world to help them get their people vaccinated so we don’t keep fighting new mutations as they occur,” Banerji said.
“If you believe that we are our brother’s keepers, we really need to help the world so that we can move forward.”
