Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote this song that the O’Jays made famous: “We are in this thing together, we gotta work it out, we gotta work it out.” These lyrics are apropos for the current state of the world.

At the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic there was international speculation on whether nationalism or globalism would gain ascendency as a consequence. The current manufacturing and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines would suggest that the proponents of globalisation, primarily rich countries, are essentially hypocrites. The naïve expectations were that the nationalist would be more ethnocentric towards vaccine distribution, while the globalist would be more cosmopolitan. But no, hell no! The modus operandi of rich countries towards the vaccination effort is not just “parson christen ‘im pickney fus,” but “parson christen all a im pickney fus”.

While many poor nations may be able to vaccinate at most 20 per cent of their populations in 2021, some of the world’s richest countries have reserved enough doses to immunise their own multiple times over. With no guarantee that any particular vaccine would come through, these countries hedged their bets on a number of candidates. But if all the doses they have claimed are delivered, the European Union could inoculate its residents twice, Britain and the United States could do so four times over, and Canada six times over, according to a The New York Times analysis of data on vaccine contracts collected by Duke University; UNICEF; and Airfinity, a science analytics company.

According to The Guardian newspaper, rich countries — approximately 14 per cent of the world’s population — have secured 53 per cent of the best vaccines. Almost all of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines will go to rich countries. The Moderna vaccine will go to rich countries exclusively. It is estimated that nine out of 10 people in poor countries may never be vaccinated at all. The article explains that the European Union has exported 34 million doses to Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, which have no problem sourcing or paying for vaccines.

As of Wednesday, March 23, Israel had administered the most vaccines (see chart). The Israeli Government has deliberately not vaccinated any Palestinians as they cynically claim that they have no legal obligation so to do. They intend to “donate” their excess vaccines to countries which have moved their embassies to Jerusalem. It is reported that both Israel and the United Arab Emirates have paid a premium for their vaccines.

The current ethnocentric and rich-country-centric roll-out of vaccines is not new. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), in warning that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure, explained that a HIV/AIDS emerged 40 years ago and sparked a pandemic. Life-saving medicines were developed, but more than a decade passed before the world’s poor got access to them.

Some 12 years ago, when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged and sparked a pandemic, life-saving vaccines were developed, but by the time the world’s poor got access the pandemic was over. The WHO has no problem with all governments prioritising their own health workers and older people first. However, rich countries are vaccinating younger, healthier adults before front line health workers and older people in poorer countries. The approach taken by rich countries will not only prolong the pandemic, but result in greater loss of life in poorer countries. The prospect of billions of people in poor countries waiting years for a vaccine poses a threat not only to poor countries but also to rich countries as new variants emerge.

But rich countries haven’t got the memo. To reduce the inequity in vaccine manufacturing and distribution, South Africa and India, supported by most developing countries, have proposed to the WHO that intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines be waived. The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) and The New York Times are reporting that the US, UK and the EU have blocked the proposal. One of the arguments against this proposal was that supplying countries with the recipe is not sufficient to manufacture the vaccine. Apparently in anticipation of this line of argument the WHO created a technology pool last year to encourage countries to share know-how with manufacturers in lower-income nations, but not a single vaccine company signed up. The second argument posed by rich countries for not waiving IP rights is that such a move would dampen innovation. The issue, however, has much more to do with immediate profits, even if lives in developing countries are a casualty. That’s capitalism in action.

Before I examine China and Russia’s approach to vaccine distribution I want to comment on the national situation. Jamaica’s current situation is best described as a crisis. Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s description was an “existential threat”, with public hospital at a breaking point, some exceeding their capacities by up to 150 per cent. This has necessitated a hybrid lockdown over recent weekends. A more stringent lockdown may be required if this third wave is not controlled. Jamaica has taken this less stringent step in an effort to balance economic imperatives and the health crisis.

Despite the Government’s sanguine tone, the pandemic has hit the country hard. Holness, in his budget presentation, indicated that the economy had contracted by just over 10 per cent; tourism declined by 70 per cent and foreign exchange inflows by 74 per cent. According to WHO data, Jamaica has vaccinated less than one per cent of the population. With richer countries hoarding vaccines and ensuring that they have herd immunity before they start to distribute to other countries, Jamaica will have to continue to rely on protocols and a disciplined population. The recent amendment to the Disaster Risk Management Act, with its associated penalties, should help to enforce discipline.

Jamaica’s recovery plan, as presented in the budget debate, is predicated on heavy investment in infrastructure and tourism, including Montego Bay Perimeter Project, a climate park in Portmore, and several road construction projects, will be delayed if this third wave of this more virulent strain of the virus is not contained.

Buju Banton wrote, “Til I’m laid to rest, yes, Always be depressed, There’s no life in the West, I know the East is the best, All the propaganda they spread, Tongues will have to confess.” The East got the memo and are practising vaccine diplomacy, even with their vaccines having a lower efficacy. The rich countries with the more effective vaccines have ignored the memo. Both China and Russia have supplied over 800 million doses of their vaccines to over 40 countries. This is not being done out of the goodness of their hearts, but in the interest of long-term trade and diplomatic relations. As the world move headlong into a digital economy, the nationalist, ethnocentric approach towards threats like pandemics, climate change, technology, ethics, and de-nuclearisation will only be solved on a global level by collaboration and not competition. The entire world could see a faster recovery with collaboration and a more equitable distribution based on needs. This hope is not utopian, we are all in this thing together, “we gotta work it out”. 

Professor Paul Golding is former dean of the College of Business and Management at the University of Technology, Jamaica. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or pgolding@utech.edu.jm.