A Vaccine For The Poor

Lukewarm response to vaccine registration,
Very few effective vaccines are in action.
But there is no vaccine for the poor,
Delay in showing COVID-19 the exit door.

With a sigh of relief Bangladesh has started a country wide vaccination program. With much fanfare ministers, MPs and concerned officials have taken vaccines, supplied by AstraZeneca via India's Serum Institute, in front of flashing cameras of the press. Around 1000 hospitals across the country are prepared for the vaccination program. Earlier government launched an application that would deliver the date of vaccination in a reply message. As many Bangladeshis are not at ease with such application, government also introduced registration forms at the vaccination centers.

Congestion during the photo session of the health minister taking vaccine caused debate on the press about violating the standard operating procedures of COVID-19. It is interesting that a great number of people did not show any keen interest to register for vaccine.Ruling party politicians, MPs and government officials pledged everyone to take vaccine trashing all all rumors and negative narrative.

Bangladesh got the vaccine pretty quickly, as one of its private company inked deal with Serum Institute, India, for the vaccines of AstraZeneca. Bangladesh signed an agreement for 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.India as part of its "neighbor first" policy donated Bangladesh another 2 million doses of vaccines. Till to date Bangladesh received 7 million vaccines, including the 2 million gifted by India. In addition, Bangladesh also joined the global alliance on vaccine for COVID-19. Under this alliance Bangladesh will also receive the doses of AstraZeneca.

Some Bangladeshi companies also applied to the government for third-phase trial. But their small initiatives are met with hurdles that only delay the procedure. If government were a bit kind towards such companies we would see a home-developed vaccine by this time. Even Nepal , a neighboring country, showed keen interest on it when the news first broke.

I came across a news report claiming AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective to South African variants of the vaccine. The new strains are already causing unprecedented havocs in the world with surge in new cases and rising rate of mortality.

We should have welcomed other vaccines if they are easily available. For instance, government recently allowed Sputnik vaccine to the workers and engineers from Russia and Ukraine on the condition that project implementation authority bears all responsibility in case of any adverse consequences. Meanwhile, Lancet, medical research journal, claims that Russian vaccine is 92% effective against COVID-19. Bangladesh government should approach the Russian government to mass produce the vaccine at home. Earlier, Bangladesh had failed to capitalize from SinoVac's clinical trial at home. Other Chinese pharmaceutical companies are also showing great interest.

Bangladesh government mobilized resources to procure vaccine. World Bank, ADB, France and other development partners provided soft loans to purchase vaccine. Though Bangladesh is offering the vaccine at free of cost to all citizens , I personally think it should not be free to those who could afford it.Ministry of Health has not yet finalized the rules for private purchase of vaccines from pharmacies and health centers. Since it is necessary to bring majority of people under the vaccination program to make sure herd immunity, government may not have any option but to open so many vaccination centers across the country. But private procurement should be there.Government can deduct the cost of vaccination from salaries or annual fund for an office. Due to Corona, many branches of the government either cut their development spending or do not utilize them at all. Part of this spending could easily be redirected to repay the vaccine credit. Government bodies that are less transparent or accountable should easily vie for this kind of deduction/contribution.

Request can also be made to individuals , professional bodies, corporate houses to make voluntary contribution to government vaccination program. There is already a popular mean: imposition of supplementary duty on mobile talk time and data. Communities, neighborhoods can also step forward to finance their own vaccination program.

To develop our own vaccine is the key to mass vaccination in the wake of any new variety of COVID-19. Those who could afford vaccines capable to deal with newer strains ultimately will buy those vaccines from the market later when private purchase will be allowed.Left-outs have no choice but to go for home-produced vaccine if there is any.If government could show interest in funding them , then they will prepare vaccines for the new variant as well. This crisis should be seen as an opportunity to increase the capability and strength of our pharmaceutical companies instead of clipping their wings. There is no vaccine for the "poor". I think we should mobilize efforts to develop a vaccine for the poor. It is a pity that a country that led from the front in the fight against cholera by devising oral saline has not yet come forward with a vaccine for all. It is naïve to assume that the world will develop a vaccine for the poor amid this strong wind of vaccine nationalism.

Under the banner of"Extended Program for Immunization", which aims to vaccinate childs against some key diseases like polio, diphtheria Hepatitis etc, Bangladesh has the experience to conduct such large scale vaccination program. So this scale of vaccination program will not pose a huge challenge to authority.

There will be no herd immunity unless most of the population get vaccinated. At the same time, there will be no normalcy unless government is prepared for the most aggressive and nefarious variants of the COVID-19. Very few people and government could afford a vaccine cost between $15 and $10. So there is no option but to develop a vaccine that will be afforded by all.