By Z Petrosian
Despite progress being made in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, corporate profiteering is preventing access to a safe vaccine for all. To prevent many more deaths, the people need to organize to challenge the power of these companies.
Pharmaceutical executives should not be allowed to decide who lives and who dies of COVID-19.
Capitalism: companies hoard informaton and technology to maximize profits
After benefiting from billions in taxpayer money to develop COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. pharmaceutical companies plan to get rich by turning around and selling this life-saving medicine to the highest bidder. Pfizer and Moderna have already promised around 80% of doses to the richest governments, leaving working people around the world to die while waiting for the leftovers.
Worldwide, nearly 200 different vaccines are being developed independently of one another as capitalist companies compete for a marketable vaccine. In a reasonable society, scientists and other workers would share data, expertise, equipment, and distribution systems to make sure all of humanity has easy access to life-saving medical technology. If it is not attacked everywhere, COVID-19 will not be defeated.
Socialism: informaton and products are public resources for public good
In May, President Xi Jinping stated that China will treat a coronavirus vaccine as a “global public good.” China currently has five vaccines in late stage trials and two vaccines that are candidates for inclusion in COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility, an effort led in part by the World Health Organization to make sure that any safe and effective vaccines quickly reach humanity in an equitable way.
In October, China, South Africa, India, and other developing countries called on the World Trade Organization to suspend patents on all COVID-19-related vaccines and treatments. “This is a race against time, and we cannot allow the pursuit of profit to triumph over human need,” said Heidi Chow, of the advocacy group Global Justice Now. The U.S. government and the corporations it represents have opposed these efforts.
Any vaccine is a product of the collective labor of thousands of workers who have contributed to its development, production, and distribution. When a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is found, it should be made accessible at no cost, first to those who most need it, and then to the general population. We must demand a peoples vaccine, free and safe for all!