#marxism
Hardship Fund for Columbia Student Workers #CUonStrike - Open Collective
Columbia student workers are on strike (1) because of Columbia’s unfair labor practices and (2) because they deserve a living wage, comprehensive healthcare, and protection from discrimination and harassment.
Vaccine Nationalism - Dissent Magazine
“Faced with the worst health crisis in modern times, Biden and other world leaders have chosen to support the interests of a few enormously rich companies. The same people who loudly disavowed Trump when he called COVID-19 the ‘Chinese virus’ have embraced their own variety of nativism, exerting reckless privilege while claiming to act in the interest of public health. All of this should be a scandal, but it isn’t. For the most part, people in rich countries have been relieved and content to have themselves and their families vaccinated after months of restrictions. Other countries remain an afterthought. Years of jingoistic policy under Trump and other nativist leaders worldwide have not inspired hope for global solidarity.”
Based on data compiled by Global Justice Now and released Saturday, “just 8 top Pfizer and Moderna shareholders” added a combined $10.31 billion to their fortunes last week after stock prices soared in response to the emergence of Omicron.
According to a statement by the group:
Moderna’s shares skyrocketed after the announcement and settled at $310.61/share on Wednesday 1 December, up 13.61% from $273.39/share since Wednesday 24 November, the day before the announcement. Pfizer’s shares rose by 7.41% from $50.91/share to $54.68/share.
Moderna’s CEO, Stephane Bancel, personally became more than $824m richer in the week after the announcement, with the value of his shares rising from $6,052,522,978 to $6,876,528,630. He sold off 10,000 shares for $319 each on 26 November, the day after the variant was announced, cashing out $3.19 million.
At close of business on Tuesday, Bancel’s shares had grown by $1.7 billion since the announcement, before falling after the company lost a legal dispute over patents.
Bancel has refused to share the recipe for Moderna’s vaccine with the World Health Organisation to help scale-up manufacturing of mRNA vaccines through its new hub in South Africa. WHO scientists are now trying to reverse-engineer the vaccine. His company is also waging a legal battle to erase the role of massive public funding and public scientists in developing the jab.
Are Vaccine Boosters Widely Needed? Some Federal Advisers Have Misgivings.
“In interviews last week, several advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to the Food and Drug Administration said data show that, with the exception of adults over age 65, the vast majority of Americans are already well protected against severe illness and do not need booster shots.
“All the advisers acknowledged that they were obligated to make difficult choices, based on sparse research, in the middle of a public health emergency. But some said they felt compelled to vote for the shots because of the way the federal agencies framed the questions that they were asked to consider.”
Frustrated Biden officials are hoping to simplify the message on Covid-19 boosters
“Biden and his team are loathe to recommend against indoor holiday gatherings for another year, mindful that Americans are growing increasingly exhausted from pandemic-related restrictions.
“So, too, are Biden and his team mindful of not signaling an end to the pandemic after prematurely declaring ‘freedom from the virus’ over the summer. A subsequent surge due to the highly contagious Delta variant caused a return of mask requirements and closures, and led many Americans to sour on how Biden was handling the crisis.
“Once a bright spot in his poll numbers, more Americans now disapprove of Biden’s handling of the pandemic (49%) than approve (47%), according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week.”
COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers
“Most of the vaccinations so far in the U.S. have come from Pfizer, which developed its shot with Germany’s BioNTech, and Moderna. They have inoculated about 99 million and 68 million people, respectively. Johnson & Johnson is third with about 14 million people.
“No one knows yet how many people will get the extra shots. But Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen expects boosters alone to bring in about $26 billion in global sales next year for Pfizer and BioNTech and around $14 billion for Moderna if they are endorsed for nearly all Americans.”
“The WHO strongly opposes the widespread rollout of booster shots, asking that wealthier nations instead give extra doses to countries with minimal vaccination rates. The U.S. has already administered over 2 million third doses nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended boosters on Friday for anyone 65 and older.
…
“”WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sept. 14 that most countries with under 2% vaccination coverage are in Africa, where less than 3.5% of the continent’s eligible population is fully inoculated against Covid. Africa will likely miss the WHO’s target of a 10% vaccination rate by the end of the year, Tedros added.”
To be clear, I am 100% in favor of vaccinations and don’t even begrudge people getting boosters since ordinary people don’t decide who is getting vaccines.
But I am convinced the reasons everyone in wealthy countries is getting boosters are politics and profit, while millions of people in the Global South still haven’t received a single dose.
Are Vaccine Boosters Widely Needed? Some Federal Advisers Have Misgivings.
“In interviews last week, several advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to the Food and Drug Administration said data show that, with the exception of adults over age 65, the vast majority of Americans are already well protected against severe illness and do not need booster shots.
“All the advisers acknowledged that they were obligated to make difficult choices, based on sparse research, in the middle of a public health emergency. But some said they felt compelled to vote for the shots because of the way the federal agencies framed the questions that they were asked to consider.”
Frustrated Biden officials are hoping to simplify the message on Covid-19 boosters
“Biden and his team are loathe to recommend against indoor holiday gatherings for another year, mindful that Americans are growing increasingly exhausted from pandemic-related restrictions.
“So, too, are Biden and his team mindful of not signaling an end to the pandemic after prematurely declaring ‘freedom from the virus’ over the summer. A subsequent surge due to the highly contagious Delta variant caused a return of mask requirements and closures, and led many Americans to sour on how Biden was handling the crisis.
“Once a bright spot in his poll numbers, more Americans now disapprove of Biden’s handling of the pandemic (49%) than approve (47%), according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week.”
COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers
“Most of the vaccinations so far in the U.S. have come from Pfizer, which developed its shot with Germany’s BioNTech, and Moderna. They have inoculated about 99 million and 68 million people, respectively. Johnson & Johnson is third with about 14 million people.
“No one knows yet how many people will get the extra shots. But Morningstar analyst Karen Andersen expects boosters alone to bring in about $26 billion in global sales next year for Pfizer and BioNTech and around $14 billion for Moderna if they are endorsed for nearly all Americans.”
“The WHO strongly opposes the widespread rollout of booster shots, asking that wealthier nations instead give extra doses to countries with minimal vaccination rates. The U.S. has already administered over 2 million third doses nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended boosters on Friday for anyone 65 and older.
…
“”WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sept. 14 that most countries with under 2% vaccination coverage are in Africa, where less than 3.5% of the continent’s eligible population is fully inoculated against Covid. Africa will likely miss the WHO’s target of a 10% vaccination rate by the end of the year, Tedros added.”
https://time.com/6108414/white-feminism-world-fair-chicago-history/
What the 1893 World’s Fair Teaches Us About White Feminism Today
“The rates at which white feminists have advanced themselves is marvelous but also tainted by the unearned and unjust fruits of racial privilege that have accrued to them.”
A damning new report shows that one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine makers appears to have played a role in restricting access to those very vaccines. The report, “Pfizer’s Power,” published this week by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, examines Pfizer’s contracts with the United States, United Kingdom, European Commission, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic and Peru. They offer a rare glimpse into the power Pfizer has to silence governments, throttle supply, shift risk and maximize profits in the middle of a public health crisis.
Pressure Grows on U.S. Companies to Share Covid Vaccine Technology
Moderna accepted $2.5 billion in taxpayer money to develop its Covid-19 vaccine. But as the world faces a dire vaccine shortage, U.S. and overseas officials are having trouble persuading the company to license its technology.
U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization
A meeting of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual property council ended Thursday without action on a proposal to suspend patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines. The United Kingdom and some wealthy European Union nations, led by Germany, continue to oppose a patent waiver, which was first proposed over a year ago by India and South Africa and backed by over 100 WTO member nations. Since then, the world has recorded over 3.8 million COVID-19 deaths.
‘How Many More People Must Die?’ EU, UK Under Fire for Tanking Patent Waiver Talks
Rich nations’ refusal to take on the pharmaceutical industry could “prolong the pandemic indefinitely”
J&J raises profit forecast amid COVID-19 vaccine sales
J&J rang up $502 million in sales from its COVID-19 vaccine in the third quarter after pulling in $264 million during the first half of 2021.
Vaccine inequity is the ignominy of our times
Global vaccination has been highly regressive. The extremely poor are also extremely poorly vaccinated. The huge inequality we currently observe is an inequity that may eventually backfire epidemiologically, socially and economically. The regressive pattern of vaccination enhances the risk of the development of more dangerous variants and by doing that it risks exacerbating the direct and indirect effects of the health emergency on social and economic outcomes either through domestic or cross-border channels.
Pressure Grows on U.S. Companies to Share Covid Vaccine Technology
Moderna accepted $2.5 billion in taxpayer money to develop its Covid-19 vaccine. But as the world faces a dire vaccine shortage, U.S. and overseas officials are having trouble persuading the company to license its technology.
U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization
A meeting of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual property council ended Thursday without action on a proposal to suspend patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines. The United Kingdom and some wealthy European Union nations, led by Germany, continue to oppose a patent waiver, which was first proposed over a year ago by India and South Africa and backed by over 100 WTO member nations. Since then, the world has recorded over 3.8 million COVID-19 deaths.
‘How Many More People Must Die?’ EU, UK Under Fire for Tanking Patent Waiver Talks
Rich nations’ refusal to take on the pharmaceutical industry could “prolong the pandemic indefinitely”
Pressure Grows on U.S. Companies to Share Covid Vaccine Technology
Moderna accepted $2.5 billion in taxpayer money to develop its Covid-19 vaccine. But as the world faces a dire vaccine shortage, U.S. and overseas officials are having trouble persuading the company to license its technology.
U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization
A meeting of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual property council ended Thursday without action on a proposal to suspend patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines. The United Kingdom and some wealthy European Union nations, led by Germany, continue to oppose a patent waiver, which was first proposed over a year ago by India and South Africa and backed by over 100 WTO member nations. Since then, the world has recorded over 3.8 million COVID-19 deaths.