COVID is slowly becoming a “third world” disease. While first world countries are hoarding vaccines, having doses for populations many times their size, third world countries can’t get any because pharma companies want to sell to the first world countries first. Even then, first world countries will receive them first. While rich countries recover from COVID, they will forget about the pandemic while many other countries live the absolute worst moment of the pandemic without being able to vaccinate their population.
Watch also when some first world countries finish vaccinating their populations, they will turn to third world countries and “donate” or sell surplus vaccines. People in these countries will go “Oh how sweet! The government is donating vaccines to the poorer countries <3” when it was their hoarding that led to many, many third world citizens dying before they could even get vaccinated in the first place.
african and latin american countries are also pushed by pfizer to give up sovereign assets as part of their vaccine agreement
They’re not only hoarding and blackmailing, but the cherry on top is that the US, UK, Australia, most of Europe, Brazil et al. actually voted AGAINST waiving intellectual property agreements for the existing vaccines, something that India & South Africa proposed MONTHS ago to the World Trade Organization, and which most of the Global South voted yes to. So rather than letting countries manufacture these vaccines themselves, meaning they could have their own supply, they’re being kept, by multiple measures, beholden to the Global North for donations. The US voted multiple times to block this, before and after Biden’s inauguration.
[Image description: a world map. Countries in black (US, Brazil, most of Europe, Japan, Australia) opposed; countries in green (Africa not including Algeria/Libya/Western Sahara/Eritrea; China, South Asia, and most of southeast Asia; and Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua) are co-sponsors/full supporters; countries in yellow (Canada, Mexico, Chile) are undecided; countries in light brown (Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, Thailand, Bhutan, the Phillipines, and Papua New Guinea) are general supporters; and the remainder are gray, which is not designated as anything]
and, like, WATCH border policies change because of this
当时讲到知识产权，历来最核心的东西是什么？
When people talk about intellectual property or IP, what has historically always been at the center of this discussion?
药。
Medicine.
就是那个《我不是药神》里面的那个药呀。
The same ‘medicine’ in “I’m Not A Medicine God” — that ‘medicine’.
印度那个药是什么？ 防止药呀。 为什么便宜了？ 有人说省了知识产权。 鬼扯，就是把它利润降了。
What is Indian pharmaceuticals? Preventative medicine. And why is it so cheap? Some say it’s because the cost of IP is not included. Bullshit. In reality, the market prices have been purposely lowered to make this area less profitable.
就是西方国家研制药物，就是给人命标价。
This is the way Western countries develop medicines — to put a price tag on Human Life.
他们的防疫为什么搞不好了？ 因为他们走的是医疗路线。
Why did they fail their epidemic prevention? Because they’re going the Medical Services route.
我们走的叫公共卫生路线。
We’re going the Public Health route.
那个地方就是你有钱你才有命。 没钱。 死了。 活该。
In that place, those who have money get to keep their lives. No money? You’re dead, and you deserve it.
这儿，我们命才是命，不是钱。
Here, our lives actually count as Life, not money.
这是资本主义和社会主义的区别。 知识产权就是个分界线。
This is the difference between Capitalism and Socialism. Intellectual property is the dividing line.
有他内生合理的东西，可以在一定程度上保护创新，但你要看领域。 然后你会发现中间最吊诡的是什么？
There are certain things that makes sense within Capitalism itself, for example the will to innovate is protected to some extent, but it depends on what field. Then you slowly realize, what’s the most bizarre thing about it?
它最核心的领域就是生物制药。越是重的病，越是好的药，越是贵。 为什么？
The core area of Capitalism is biopharmaceuticals. The worse the disease, the more advanced the medicine, the more expensive. Why?
他认为你花钱在买命。 也就是在他那个世界里面，命是可以用钱来衡量，而且应该且必须用钱衡量。
That’s because people are being made to pay in order to stay alive. That is, in the world of Capitalism not only is Life measured in money, it is dictated that Life should and must be measured in money.
这就叫资本主义。 知道吧？
This is what’s called Capitalism. Understand?
沈逸老师
Shenyi Yi (professor, member of the Communist Party of China, Professor of the Department of International Politics, School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, Director of the Cyberspace Governance Research Center of Fudan University, expert on American issues)
This is my state, this affects me. Here is a link to information about how to contact Governor Hutchinson to urge him to veto the bill. Please signal boost; our biggest hope right now is drumming up a national outcry
