Candid Covid Conversations(CCC)

Welcome to Candid Covid Conversations. Today is The first Friday of this month February and its Day 33 of the lockdown. We have discussed vaccine nationalism before and the efforts that WHO has put up in trying to dissuade rich nations from monopolizing vaccines at the expense of poor nations.WHO has been calling for equitable distribution but rich nations have not taken heed.Indeed to quote Dr Tedros the Director General this is a "moral failure ".It shows the real colours of nationalism when push comes to shove. I want to dwell on a theory that I will call "The Politics of Vaccines " as a follow up to Nationalism. If you have been observing the distribution you may have found a lot of this politics.For instance The EU which is the largest trading bloc in the world have all placed orders with either AstraZeneca or Pfizer/Biontech which companies are controlled by the West.The UK which exited the EU recently has also ordered from the same companies.India the second most populous nation in the world being a former British colony has also ordered the AstraZeneca vaccines.In fact they also manufacture the same.Pakistan which is India's rival but also a former British colony has ordered Sputnik the Russian Vaccine.The US has ordered Pfizer/Biontech. The Chinese have not ordered any Western vaccines although they are said to be more effective but have remained with their own Sinovac.Russia went on to distribute their own Sputnik before data was available. It has now been validated and has an efficacy rate of between 91 and 93%.Iran also received some Sputnik vaccines from Russia yesterday. The Supreme leader has told the Government never to order vaccines from the West because he does not trust them.South Africa received the AstraZeneca from India.So you begin to see nation's ordering from those countries that they are aligned to politically. You could even go further and almost predict where dictators are going to procure their vaccines from. Almost all continents have a country that has produced or is in the process except Africa.So it seems like this is going to be another political arena for producing nations. Those countries who have decided to look East will get their vaccines from China and Russia while those that have remained in the Commowealth will most likely buy from the West.There is going to be a huge outflow of wealth from Africa in exchange for the vaccine. Interestingly yesterday we had statements retracting the fact that our citizens will pay for the vaccine.First it was the Minister claiming he was quoted out of context.This is an overused excuse by politicians when they are caught offside.VP Chiwenga also weighed in and reiterated that vaccines was a Government responsibility and later The President also said the same.So Prof Ncube Please don't be over excited.One question still begs an answer though.All three indicated that citizens will be vaccinated for free but did not mention foreigners who are resident here.There are not that many but all the same they need to be vaccinated. South Africa is vaccinating our people there and aren't we ashamed to be doing the opposite here.I hope this will be addressed. We are not safe until everyone is safe so it does not make sense to leave out others. In signing off I want to wish all those who are currently suffering from this virus and wish the a speedy recovery.I have 3 friends who are currently under this disease and have narrated to me how brutal this disease is on the body.It takes everything from you.Our prayers are with you. The usual drill ladies and gentlemen. Sanitise,wash your hands,wear masks properly, keep away from crowds, meditate and above all Be positive in your thinking but try your hardest to avoid testing positive.Good morning and God Bless