When the new world order developed from the ruins of world war II , there was a race! A race to development, a race to the moon, a battle of ideologies. Many battles have been fought in the past and those many battles brought about the downfall of many kingdoms! But the cold war, the unfought fight brought about the slow disintegration of the Soviet Union. Now the coronavirus has once again brought the similar race to the country's doorstep! A race to bring out the vaccine first. That might give them a head start in the vaccine making business for the near future.
In the first days of the pandemic World wide, the world came to a near stop, a lockdown! It affected the vulnerable the most. The rich, the celebrities gave public service announcements requesting and advicing people to stay home and stay safe! But to stay home for a longer period requires sustainable income, which was hard for many people around the world and in particular Indians, who depend on their daily wages, and their activities to provide them their income. A large number of migrant workers were the most vulnerable, due to the lockdown. Suddenly there was no work for them, and no home to stay, and no way of them reaching their homes with all the transportation cutoff. The longer the lockdown lasts, the longer the problems of vulnerable increase! The rich and the government responded to their cries, helping them in the ways they could! Donating food, giving shelter, providing transport and many other ways! The pandemic has brought everyone on a level playing field, no one was far from safe. The fact that the President of United States has tested positive for the virus proves that, but it also shows the fact that mere precautions like social distancing and mask wearing was not followed by many, or that it was not sufficient.
Now after six months of the pandemic, we have many contenders for the vaccine. Many countries report that they are near completion of their human trails. Russia even announced they completed the trails and their vaccine was ready, but the world was not so excited about it! Now when USA and even India is looking to produce the vaccines, the question is how will be given? Because once it is something you can buy in a drugstore or a hospital, it will be used up by the rich and the powerful to keep them safe! And because it will not be an unlimited good, the prices will go up, making it even harder for the common people to get it!
Once all the rich and powerful are immune to the virus, would the virus be seen as important issue as it is now? Because millions of people die from hunger, wars , displacement, preventable diseases and treatable ailments, but all these causes do not bring about a similar response the coronavirus has brought about, mainly because the rich and the powerful are immune to these!! A professor in India ( I forgot his name) suggested that the vaccine should be treated as a public good, the government should decide who gets the vaccine first, not the rich, but those who needs the protection/ immunity first! The frontline doctors, nurses and the staff. The police, the people whose jobs depend on interactions with people.
Comments
Post a Comment