Last week, the Biden administration asked for a global waiver on vaccine intellectual property protections. What is this waiver? Why does it matter? And why did Biden stand up to big pharma?
Unless Covid is brought under control, if could near bankrupt the rest of the world, with much of the cost falling back on the United States, but Big Pharma only cared about its bottom line. Even the Biden administration thought letting neoliberalism run amok was too much in the middle a global pandemic. But there are other reasons why Biden took the decision he did - see below.
There are two reasons the administration then supported the waiver. The first is that the Biden administration really does not want Covid variants to return and force another lockdown. The second is, geopolitics, and ‘vaccine diplomacy.’ China’s vaccines, which use traditional methods, are not as effective as the mRNA treatments, but they exist. And China is sending its vaccines to more than 80 countries, with Russia also pushing its influence through its own effective vaccine. These countries are, rightfully, making a big deal of how the U.S. isn’t doing any exporting, and generating leverage as a reliable partner when the West is absent.
As a result, the traditional calculation within the U.S. government changed from pro-pharma to anti-pharma. The people in charge of money and guns took the progressive position, because the progressive position was a way to counter Russian and Chinese vaccine diplomacy, and to keep the economy free from a renewed pandemic threat. Treasury and State Departments, the National Security Council, and the National Economic Council, all supported the waiver. So did the United States Trade Representative Office, led by Katherine Tai, who made the final case to Biden.
(As an aside, I worked on the Hill for six years, and USTR was always the center of corporate power in government. For USTR to go against pharma is truly the world turned upside down.)
Matt Stolller - Why Joe Biden Punched Big Pharma in the Nose Over Covid Vaccines
“”Where there’s great success, there’s great money. Pfizer is projecting it will make $26 billion in 2021 from its vaccine, and Moderna will make $18.4 billion. That’s a good thing. These firms should make large sums of money from a fantastically useful vaccine, even though the technology was publicly financed.”
ReplyDeletePFE not going to “make!” 26b from this... stock would be $100... total earnings company wide pre covid were 16b...
Guy is conflating revenues with earnings... maybe take an Accounting course or two...
I think they want about $20 each dose... peanuts.. shouldn’t even be talking about it ... just pay them the $20 and get over it....
No, they want to hike it to $120 to $200 for the boosters.
DeleteWill he get the waiver?
ReplyDeleteWaiver schmaiver who is going to manufacture the vaccines and do they even know what the hell they are doing???
ReplyDeleteFor a lousy 20 bucks just let the people who created it do it...
Moderna had already agreed to a waiver during the Pandemic.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.fool.com/investing/2021/05/09/should-you-worry-about-this-threat-to-modernas-vac/
Waiver schmaiver who is going to manufacture the vaccines and do they even know what the hell they are doing??? For a lousy 20 bucks just let the people who created it do it...
ReplyDeleteThe problem, like many others, is scale.
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ReplyDeletemRNA is NOT recent technology; it's been around for decades.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day (or night if you are in Australia or something), adenovirus vector vaccines do exactly what their mRNA vaccine counterparts do -- that is make "babies." "Babies" is, of course, the harmless spike proteins so your immune system can make the appropriate antibodies.
Main benefit of mRNA vaccines is the speed and scaling of production.
And, I must say, the word "vector" is just a fancy word meaning "carrier directing." (Yes, I know what it means in the physics sense: a quantity that has BOTH magnitude and direction.)
No harm done, might say even a great benefit to humanity, if the U.S. Justice Dept. arrested Pfizer executives once and a while to keep those greedy fuckers in check.
Now my song and dance bit. Maestro! :)
Take me out to the clinic,
Take me out for a jab;
Give me some pfizer or
J&J,
I don't care if it's mRNA.
Let me root, root, root for the
T-cells,
If they don't "win," it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes,
you're out,
At the old ball game.
Yeah, so my first vaccine appointment is on May 16 :)))))))
Btw, if you guys here are interested in a 30min video explaining how vaccines work and the different types of vaccines currently in use, I'll gladly post the link to a so-simple-plain-English-explanation-that-even-your-demb-ass-significant-other-will-understan, I'll gladly post the youtube video link. What's great about the video is that it first explains how a cell works, and then goes on to explain the difference between DNA and RNA before getting into vaccines. That was very considerate of the virologist because you can't really understand how vaccines work if you don't know how cells work. It's like trying to learn calculus when you have no frickin' idea of the arithmetic operations of fractions. You laugh, but it's no joke when students do poory on such an easy (if not one of the easiest math courses) because they forgot their damn fractions :(
ReplyDeleteVaccines work for rabies, and polio. Respiratory viruses, I'm dubious about.
ReplyDeleteVirologists claim to know how viruses work.
Immunologists claim to know how vaccines work.
Lets not put medical science on a pedestal.
Not until it knows much more than it actually does.
"Babies" is, of course, the harmless spike proteins so your immune system can make the appropriate antibodies. lastgreek
ReplyDeleteExcept, from what I've read, it's ONLY the spike protein that causes disease and does so without the rest of the virus.
And since people have died from taking an mRNA vaccine for Covid, "harmless" is hardly the right description.
Put that in odds, AA.
ReplyDelete@lastgreek,
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to CDC's tool to display VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) data for ALL vaccines, not just Covid vaccines: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/ensuringsafety/monitoring/vaers/access-VAERS-data.html You can play with data as you wish but Karl Denninger produced a graph showing the Covid vaccines are roughly 100(?) times more likely to produce adverse effects than, say, the measles vaccine.
That still may be a relatively small risk for those particularly susceptible to Covid but for some groups, such as the young, it's about twice as dangerous as Covid itself.
Odds of dying from Covid - less than 1%
ReplyDeleteOdds of dying from untreated rabies - 100%
Odds of dying of old age - 100%
If odds of dying from flying were around 1%., only suicidal maniacs would get on a plane.
ReplyDeleteIf odds of getting in a fatal accident once you step outside of your home were around 1%, by year end you’d be most probably dead.
“1%”
So damn lucky we got effective vaccines now against hospitalization, illness and death
ReplyDeleteYou are more likely to die from a traffic accident than Covid.
ReplyDeleteStop being a frightened rabbit.
You got it backwards, PP
ReplyDeleteDriving fatalities after 9/11: a hidden cost of terrorism
ReplyDeleteWe show that the public's response to terrorist threats can have unintended consequences that rival the attacks themselves in severity. Driving fatalities increased significantly after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, events that prompted many travellers to substitute road transportation for safer air transportation. After controlling for time trends, weather, road conditions and other factors, we find that travellers' response to 9/11 resulted in 327 driving deaths per month in late 2001. Moreover, while the effect of 9/11 weakened over time, as many as 2300 driving deaths may be attributable to the attacks.
What does this have to do with Covid? Well, if you die because the ICU bed you needed was occupied by a Covid patient, that would be attributable to Covid. Not to mention all those cancer screening tests, etc., that have been put off because medical staff were needed elsewhere.
In fairness though, if you were so weak that the flu would have killed you but the Covid got you first, then your death should not be attributed to Covid.
Excess deaths is the only metric that matters.
You are more likely to die from a traffic accident than Covid.
ReplyDeleteAbout 38,000 people die in traffic accidents in the US every year. The number that have died from Covid is approaching 600,000.
About 38,000 people die in traffic accidents in the US every year. The number that have died from Covid is approaching 600,000.
ReplyDeleteThis is a splendid example of the inability of the human brain to evaluate risk.
Leading cause of death by age group 2017 US
If there were a vaccine for unintentional injury, I'd recommend taking it. Unless you're 65 or older.
Risk of death from disease occurs late in life. Covid (aka Boomer Remover) is extraordinary in this regard. Vaccinating the entire population (all ages) for this particular virus makes no sense.
Moreover, believing we should control or eradicate respiratory diseases is a dangerous assumption. We are meddling with mechanisms we do not fully understand.
Another aspect of risk assessment is lethality.
The risk of contracting Covid without a vaccine is acceptable.
That is not the case with rabies or polio.
For the "big picture":
ReplyDeleteCauses of Death - Our World in Data
I remember owning Pfizer shares in the late 90s in the $30s... it’s $40 now big deal...
ReplyDeletePays a nice dividend though...
"Pays a nice dividend though..."
ReplyDeleteAbout 4%. Yeah, nothing to sneeze at.
"This is a splendid example of the inability of the human brain to evaluate risk."
ReplyDeleteJust like all blondes are not created equal, so, too, all risks are not created equal.
For example: my wife, her sister, her other half-sister, and her mother -- all blondes. But they couldn't be more different. (Had this wild,crazy dream once where they and I were all marooned on a tropical deserted island (you know, like Gilligan's Island). I was in charge of the food distribution if you know what I am getting at...)
Sorry, I got a bit carried away. Like I was saying: Example: Foolish risk vs calculated risk.
According to the insurance industry, women are better drivers. Including blondes.
ReplyDeleteIf you own shares in a company that manufactures face masks, you may be sitting pretty.
ReplyDeletePeter Pan,
ReplyDeleteYou are conflating preventable deaths with non-preventable deaths.
If in a given time period 100 young people die from car accidents, which are only preventable at great cost, and a vaccine prevents the 101st death, we should vaccinate young people, despite the fact that it is only a 1% increase in deaths.
Assuming that a vaccine is not too expensive of course.
Unless the risk to young people from the vaccine is higher than their risk from Covid - and there's evidence to that effect.
ReplyDeleteNor do the vaccines prevent transmission so even that lame excuse for endangering the young does not exist.
It's contemptible to sacrifice the young for the old...
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI remember owning Pfizer shares in the late 90s in the $30s... it’s $40 now big deal...
Did you account for stock splits?
Pfizer (PFE) has 6 splits in our Pfizer stock split history database. The first split for PFE took place on July 01, 1983. This was a 2 for 1 split, meaning for each share of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 2 shares. For example, a 1000 share position pre-split, became a 2000 share position following the split. PFE's second split took place on April 01, 1991. This was a 2 for 1 split, meaning for each share of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 2 shares. For example, a 2000 share position pre-split, became a 4000 share position following the split. PFE's third split took place on July 03, 1995. This was a 2 for 1 split, meaning for each share of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 2 shares. For example, a 4000 share position pre-split, became a 8000 share position following the split. PFE's 4th split took place on July 01, 1997. This was a 2 for 1 split, meaning for each share of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 2 shares. For example, a 8000 share position pre-split, became a 16000 share position following the split. PFE's 5th split took place on July 01, 1999. This was a 3 for 1 split, meaning for each share of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 3 shares. For example, a 16000 share position pre-split, became a 48000 share position following the split. PFE's 6th split took place on November 17, 2020. This was a 1054 for 1000 split, meaning for each 1000 shares of PFE owned pre-split, the shareholder now owned 1054 shares. For example, a 48000 share position pre-split, became a 50592 share position following the split.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteIt's contemptible to sacrifice the young for the old...
When the old die, who takes care of the young? They are linked.
I don’t think it split since I owned it...
ReplyDeleteAhmed,
ReplyDeleteRoad fatalities are preventable through lower speed limits, safer cars and automation. I don't see how that is comparable to vaccination, which is either voluntary, mandated, or compulsory. There are limited options for young people to reduce their #1 cause of death. With Covid, and the flu shot, individuals have options.
You shouldnt be allowed to sell or modify a car/vehicle that can go over 75 mph...
ReplyDeleteYou know why cop cars are Dodge Chargers? Because GM is giving them to the cops a great discounts. No other reason. No comparison to the much better Crown Victoria cops used to have.
ReplyDeleteNorth American cops should have cute little hatchbacks like the cops in Europe do.
ReplyDeleteShould have said Chrysler, not GM. Then again, not much difference in the two:(
ReplyDelete