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New Zealanders should be concerned about the powerful countries dominating past access to Covid-19 vaccines, says former Prime Minister Helen Clark.
But vaccine hesitancy was the next big problem facing the nation in the months and years to come Clark, who co-chairs the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response established by the World Health Organization, said Stuff.
“Ideally, we should have global agreement on priorities for vaccine launch, and we don’t,” said Clark, who spoke in Wellington on Monday.
“It is a concern; we are at the end of the supply line and we have done better for managing the pandemic than many other countries and people might think ‘well why do they need it’. But the reality is that the Government has a duty to citizens to do the best it can to get in line. “
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JASON DORDAY / Things
Helen Clark is co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response established by the World Health Organization.
Brussells has imposed new restrictions on the export of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured within the European Union, where member states must authorize exports before the vaccines are shipped.
The measure affects the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, two of the four vaccines in New Zealand’s portfolio.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned the move as “wrong”, while Clark said the rule was “concerning.”
But New Zealand is likely to be vaccinated using a “mix and match” of the requested vaccines, he said.
However, “getting a high level of vaccine acceptance” was the next big hurdle.
“We need a high level of buy-in, but we are operating in a fog of uncertainty as to how long the vaccines will work, whether they will work against emerging variants, etc.,” he said.
“I think the key message is that this will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. We may need regular vaccinations. The science is not clear. This is a long journey. “
Meanwhile, many low-income countries still had to administer a single vaccine.
“Of the more than 90 million doses of vaccines given around the world, only 55 of all those millions have been given in sub-Saharan Africa, and all were given in one country, Guinea,” he said.
“It is unfair and frustrates the control of the pandemic. If some countries are vaccinated, they are still at risk if the pandemic prevails elsewhere. “
The panel’s second report released this month expressed regret at the uneven distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, saying that the “blossoming of hope” following the rapid development of vaccines had been “spoiled by manifest inequality in plans to the launch of the vaccine “.
Its third report would be released in May, Clark said.
