Tagged: vaccine

COVID-19 / Selected Media

As Global Pandemic Worsens, U.S. Keeps Blocking Vaccine Patent Waivers Amid Big Pharma Lobbying

Listen to the full story from Democracy Now! here.

“Dozens of countries from the Global South, led by India and South Africa, are demanding a temporary waiver on vaccine patents, but rich countries, including the U.S. under both the Trump and Biden administrations, have opposed the move. Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept, says there is a “glut” of vaccines going to wealthy countries while much of the rest of the world is left waiting.”

COVID-19

Bill Gates says no to sharing vaccine formulas with global poor to end pandemic

By Jon Queally

Read the full article from Salon here.

“Bill Gates, one of the world’s richest men and most powerful philanthropists, was the target of criticism from social justice campaigners on Sunday after arguing that lifting patent protections on COVID-19 vaccine technology and sharing recipes with the world to foster a massive ramp up in manufacturing and distribution — despite a growing international call to do exactly that — is a bad idea. Directly asked during an interview with Sky News if he thought it “would be helpful” to have vaccine recipes be shared, Gates quickly answered: ‘No.'”

Selected Media

Campaigns target Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among Blacks, but access remains an issue

By Deidre Williams

Read the full article from The Buffalo News here.

“In Buffalo, predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods such as the East Side’s 14215 ZIP code and 14201 on the Lower West Side have higher infection rates. They were among 10 Buffalo ZIP codes initially targeted for mass vaccination at the Delavan Grider Community Center to reach traditionally underserved neighborhoods with higher infection rates and more hesitancy about the vaccine.”

COVID-19 / Selected Media

Racial disparities plague vaccine rollout in WNY and across U.S.

By Caitlin Dewey

Read the full article from The Buffalo News here.

“In New York, white residents have received a disproportionate share of vaccines in each of the state’s 10 regions and in all five counties of Western New York. That disparity is especially dramatic in Erie County: While white residents make up just over 81% of the population, they account for almost 91% of the newly vaccinated. Black residents, on the other hand, represent 5.7% of all vaccinated people (compared to 13.1% of the population), while Asian residents make up 2.5% of those vaccinated (3.6% of the population) and Hispanic residents make up 2.2% (4.5% of the population).”

Selected Media

Amherst, Clarence and Orchard Park see higher Covid-19 vaccination rates

By Sandra Tan

Read the full article from Buffalo News here.

“When it comes to getting the Covid-19 vaccine in Erie County, affluence equals access. Of the top seven ZIP codes in Erie County where more than a fifth of residents have already received the Covid-19 vaccine, six came from the Amherst, Clarence and Orchard Park, which are among the wealthiest communities in the region…Meanwhile, of the dozen ZIP codes which have fewer than 10% of the population vaccinated, nine were from poorer neighborhoods in Buffalo/Cheektowaga…”

Selected Media

The US Regulatory System and COVID-19 Vaccines: The Importance of a Strong and Capable FDA

By Joshua M. Sharfstein, Jesse L. Goodman, and Luciana Borio

Read the full article from Journal of the American Medical Association here.

“For many in public health and medicine, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the US has been a frustrating journey from one disappointment to the next: late access to testing, insufficient staff and inadequate funding for contact tracing, jumbled communications, and, at the end of 2020, a chaotic launch of vaccination efforts. But in one area, from the beginning of the pandemic to the present, the US has excelled: facilitating the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.”

Selected Media

Black America Has Reason to Question Authorities

By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Read the full article from Thhe New Yorker here.

“The skepticism among the Black public is not rooted in the same kind of anti-scientific sentiment that has motivated those small communities that reject vaccines in general. Instead, Black concerns are enmeshed within a history of Black health care that is replete with acts of cruelty and depravity and has caused Black communities to regard the health-care professions with warranted suspicion. More important, racism in the provision of medical treatment in the United States has tainted the ways that health-care professionals view Black suffering and symptoms, and Black bodies, more generally.”

Selected Media

Grassroots push for more COVID-19 vaccines in Buffalo Black and Brown communities

By Thomas O’Neil White

Read the full article from WBFO here.

“Acknowledging that racism is a public health threat to communities of color, the Buffalo Common Council and local healthcare advocacy groups are prioritizing the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to the city’s Black and Brown communities. The acknowledgement is part of a larger challenge to the pervasiveness of systemic racism, with health care being one of its pillars.”

COVID-19 / Selected Media

One in Every Three African Americans Not Willing to Get COVID Shot

By Larry Hamilton

Read the full article from The DC Post here.

“Researchers behind the study noted the percentage increased to 35 among the surveyed Black adults, as this group said they ‘definitely or probably would not get vaccinated,’ even though they are affected disproportionately by the pandemic and dying at almost three times the rate of white Americans.”

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