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Demand global vaccine justice.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would share 75% of its unused COVID-19 vaccine supply, releasing 80 million doses to other countries by the end of the month. “These are doses that are being given, donated free and clear to these countries, for the sole purpose of improving the public health situation and helping end the pandemic,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, though he clarified that the U.S. government “will retain the say” on where exactly they go (MSN). As the State Department’s Twitter account declared, “No country is safe until all countries are safe” (Twitter).
Happy Monday and welcome back! The inequities of vaccine access, both domestically and abroad, deserve more scrutiny. Today, Andrew shares more about the role the U.S. plays in global vaccine distribution and how we can support.
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– Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Read about U.S. vaccine hoarding and its fatal results.
Support the Progressive International (Instagram) and the Summit for Vaccine Internationalism.
Donate to CODEPINK and Global Health Partners’ campaign to provide syringes for people in Cuba.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would share 75% of its unused COVID-19 vaccine supply, releasing 80 million doses to other countries by the end of the month. “These are doses that are being given, donated free and clear to these countries, for the sole purpose of improving the public health situation and helping end the pandemic,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, though he clarified that the U.S. government “will retain the say” on where exactly they go (MSN). As the State Department’s Twitter account declared, “No country is safe until all countries are safe” (Twitter).
The United States will immediately give 25 million doses to the United Nations’ COVAX vaccine sharing program (AP). It seems like an incredible number, but only until you do the math. Africa, which saw a 20% increase in cases over the last two weeks, will receive 5 million vaccines, enough for less than 4% of the continent’s residents (AP). 6 million doses will go to Latin America, fewer doses than people in El Salvador, the region’s 17th most populous country. 7 million will go to South and Southeast Asia, a quantity less than 3% of the population of Indonesia alone.
This development comes after months of vaccine hoarding by the United States and other rich nations. In February, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced that, while 75% of all vaccines had been administered by just 10 countries, 130 nations had not received a single vaccine at all (MSN). In the words of Georgetown Law’s Lawrence Gostin, “Rich countries have signed pre-purchase agreements with vaccine manufacturers. So [they] have bought up most of the world’s vaccine supplies.”
The United States government bought 1.2 billion vaccine doses, despite having a population of only 330 million (Salon). If everyone in the U.S. received two doses, a half billion shots would be left over, property of the U.S. government. In fact, the U.S. bought purchase options on enough vaccines to vaccinate the entire U.S. population five times (NBC).
American vaccine “charity” comes too late for thousands of people who died because the United States blocked their countries from importing vaccines.
Aside from appearing benevolent with its “gift” of hoarded vaccines, the U.S. government also gets to use vaccine donations as a political weapon, rewarding “friends like the Republic of Korea, where our military shares a command” (White House) while maintaining an embargo that prevents Cuba from importing syringes necessary for full vaccination (Code Pink).
That fact that the U.S. government prevented life-saving vaccines from reaching desperate people for weeks on end is not the only reason for its complicity. Despite racist paranoias about immigrants and Asian people as disease vectors, American business travelers and tourists have played a crucial role in spreading coronavirus around the world.
Last March, 44 University of Texas students tested positive for COVID after returning from Cabo San Lucas (KXAN). Four months later, Today published a list of countries still open to American tourism “for those trying to capitalize on less expensive plane tickets” (Today). In November, an American teen in the Cayman Islands escaped from mandatory quarantine to attend her boyfriend’s jet ski event maskless (People). One of the hardest-hit areas in Mexico is Cancún, which has actually seen more tourists this year than last (USA Today). One Pittsburgh police officer whined “we’re being held hostage down here” after he and his wife were forced to stay in their luxury resort room after testing positive for COVID during a mid-pandemic trip to Cancún last month (WPXI). Mexico ranks fourth in total deaths from COVID (CNN).
Many countries and regions are reluctant to impose stricter entry controls since their economies are almost entirely dependent on tourism, “mainly as a result of their history under Western imperialism” (Skift). American tourists felt entitled to go on vacations that turned their destinations as petri dishes. Their government hoarded vaccines to save for them upon their return home. Thousands of people, mostly working-class people of color in poor nations, have lost their lives as a result. The Biden administration’s “charity” is too little, too late.
Fortunately, community organizations around the world are coming together to demand more. The Progressive International is organizing a global Summit for Vaccine Internationalism (Progressive International) while groups like CODEPINK are providing medical supplies internationally (CODEPINK). When the American government positions itself as a compassionate donor of its hoarded goods, we should remember Dr. King’s words: “True compassion is more than flinging a coin at a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring” (American Rhetoric).
Key Takeaways
The Biden administration's vaccine sharing announcement comes after the U.S. blocked poor countries from vaccine access for months, costing untold numbers of lives.
The U.S. government bought over half a billion more vaccine doses than would be necessary to vaccinate the entire population.
American citizens played an outsized role in spreading COVID to countries dependent on U.S. tourism.
RELATED ISSUES
2/11/2021 | Support an equitable vaccine rollout.
9/16/2020 | Fight for paid sick leave.
8/23/2020 | Support those incarcerated and impacted by COVID-19.
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Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
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Support an equitable vaccine rollout.
Over the past few weeks, valiant efforts to increase vaccination rates have been lauded by the press. Tuesday, White House officials announced a program to ship doses of the vaccine directly to a network of federally funded clinics in underserved areas (NYTimes). Pfizer expects to cut COVID-19 vaccine production time by close to 50%, promising more accessibility (USA Today).
Happy Thursday, and welcome back. We started covering COVID-19 in the newsletter each week back in June. Many of our articles have the same theme: this pandemic is disproportionately affecting communities of color, and there are inadequate resources to support their wellbeing. Unfortunately, the same narrative is unfolding with access to the vaccine. Take action today to support those in your community.
Thank you all for your contributions! This newsletter is made possible by our subscribers. Consider giving $7/month on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community.
Nicole
Ps – The latest news released during the impeachment trials are harrowing. Be sure to review and amplify the Black Lives Matter movement's list of demands in response to those events. Details here.
TAKE ACTION
Urge your elected officials to improve your state’s COVID-19 race and ethnicity data reporting by using the resources on The COVID Tracking Project.
Search for petitions and other action items to ensure an equitable rollout of the vaccine in your state. Here are example actions to take in North Carolina and Georgia.
Contact your local mutual aid network to see how you can support those eligible for vaccinations in your community. You may be able to offer transportation or schedule appointments on behalf of others.
Individuals across the country are designing their own websites, Google docs, and social media accounts to make vaccine testing information more accessible (MIT Technology). Find the latest for your community and share/support where needed.
GET EDUCATED
By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
Over the past few weeks, valiant efforts to increase vaccination rates have been lauded by the press. Tuesday, White House officials announced a program to ship doses of the vaccine directly to a network of federally funded clinics in underserved areas (NYTimes). Pfizer expects to cut COVID-19 vaccine production time by close to 50%, promising more accessibility (USA Today).
But so far, the federal government has gathered race and ethnicity data for just 52% of all vaccine recipients. Among those, just 11% were given to recipients identified as Latino/Latina, and 5% were given to those identified as Black Americans (Politico). Although public health experts believe delivering vaccines directly to underserved communities is helpful, they note that the absence of comprehensive data makes it impossible to know whether vaccine distribution is truly equitable (NYTimes).
The lack of data on COVID-19 contraction and treatment’s racial disparities has been a persistent issue since the pandemic began in the U.S. last March. A study from the John Hopkins' Coronavirus Research Center published last June noted that racial and ethnic information was available for only about 35% of the total deaths in the U.S. during that time. Various advocacy organizations, including the Black Lives Matter movement, demanded accountability. While data have improved over time, they continue to have significant gaps and limitations, particularly on a state-by-state level (KFF). These discrepancies have made it difficult to understand its effects across communities and respond appropriately.
And now that we’re rigorously attempting to distribute the vaccine, the same challenges apply. In the NYTimes, Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, notes that the lack of data is alarming.
“
The race and ethnicity data is important because we know who’s bearing the brunt of the pandemic, so there is a fairness and an empathy issue. But there is also a disease control issue. If those are the groups most likely to get affected and die, those are the groups we need to make sure we are reaching with the vaccine.
Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, NYTimes
Even with limited data, the differences are apparent. NPR studied the locations of vaccination sites in major cities across the Southern U.S. and found that most are based in whiter neighborhoods (NPR). This data mirrors the organization’s previous reporting last May, which analyzed COVID-19 testing facilities (NPR). This continued disparity has immediate and urgent implications. Residents express their frustration with finding transportation to facilities for an available vaccine. But it also indicates a broader issue. Most vaccine distribution and tests are hosted in existing health care facilities, and those, too, are inequitably distributed. It’s a reminder that COVID-19 doesn’t just cause these disparities but exacerbates them.
And the South isn’t a unique case. Similar studies in other major cities show that vaccine accessibility prioritizes whiter neighborhoods (NPR). As Grist notes while analyzing Chicago data, these disparities often mean that more polluted communities are left behind (Grist). Communities with higher rates of pollution tend to have compounding health issues that can worsen the impact of COVID-19.
But it will take more than presidential intervention and speedier production timelines to get those most vulnerable vaccinated. A significant barrier to ensuring vaccines are utilized is trust. The Black community – and other communities of color - have a deep distrust of the medical system, an issue we’ve written about frequently in previous newsletters. Organizations have rallied quickly to create cross-cultural awareness campaigns, but it’s likely insufficient for solving generational trauma alone (Ad Council).
As individuals, we have little control over the systemic and political forces in play that makes vaccine distribution inequitable. But we can do our part to ease access for those in our communities. As the rollout continues, consider how you can also advocate for changes that transform our healthcare system, making it more responsive in times of future emergencies.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The vaccine rollout seems to favor white communities, with few people of color receiving the vaccine so far
Data on the vaccine rollout is limited due to constraints and disparities in state-by-state reporting
The lack of racial/ethnic data in the response to COVID-19 is a persistent issue that's affecting access to testing and treatment
Part of the issues in lack of accessibility stem from broader systemic disparities evident in healthcare
RELATED ISSUES
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza