That’s up 35% from $3.4 trillion on January 1, 2020, just as Covid-19 was beginning to take the world by storm.

In other words, U.S. billionaires have increased their wealth by a mouth-watering $1.2 trillion during the pandemic. As President Biden was at pains to point out during his recent address to Congress. twenty million Americans have lost their jobs over the same period.

Covid Vaccines have contributed massively to this shift in wealth. .A new report from Oxfam entitled “COVID vaccines create 9 new billionaires with combined wealth greater than cost of vaccinating world’s poorest countries” highlights the issue while underscoring mounting global pressure over vaccine disparity 

 Here are the names of new billionaires created in the last 18 months from the production of Covid vaccines.

1. Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, now worth $4.3 billion.
2. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, now worth $4 billion.
3. Timothy Springer, immunologist and founding investor of Moderna, now worth $2.2 billion.
4. Noubar Afeyan, Moderna’s chairman, now worth $1.9 billion.
5. Juan Lopez-Belmonte, chairman of Spanish drugmaker Rovi, which struck a deal to make ingredients for Moderna’s vaccine, now worth $1.8 billion.
6. Robert Langer, scientist and founding investor in Moderna, worth $1.6 billion.
7. Zhu Tao, co-founder and chief scientific officer at CanSino Biologics, worth $1.3 billion.
8. Qiu Dongxu, co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics, now worth $1.2 billion.
9. Mao Huihua, co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics, now worth $1 billion.

According to Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager;

“What a testament to our collective failure to control this cruel disease that we quickly create new vaccine billionaires but totally fail to vaccinate the billions who desperately need to feel safe. These billionaires are the human face of the huge profits many pharmaceutical corporations are making from the monopoly they hold on these vaccines. These vaccines were funded by public money and should be first and foremost a global public good, not a private profit opportunity. We need to urgently end these monopolies so that we can scale up vaccine production, drive down prices and vaccinate the world.”

A record 493 new faces joined Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list this year — roughly one new billionaire every 17 hours between March 2020 and March 2021 — including 98 newcomers from the U.S. That includes famous faces like Kim Kardashian West, moviemaker Tyler Perry and Apple CEO Tim Cook. It also includes ten new billionaires who got rich riding the SPAC wave, like laser lidar mogul Austin Russell and serial SPAC sponsors Chamath Palihapitiya and Bill Foley.

The pandemic hasn’t simply created or contributed to the creation of new billionaires, it has had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of established wealth. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos lead the charge, seeing increases in their respective wealth of $144 billion and $86 billion since January of 2020.

I’ll do the math for you. That’s a total accumulation in wealth of $488 billion between ten people since January 2020, hardly an amount to be sneezed at. Share that out between the 20 million Americans who lost their jobs and they’d each be over $22,000 better off. 

The post The Covid Vaccine Billionaires. An Object Lesson in Profiting From a Pandemic appeared first on Medika Life.

After completing a brief screening questionnaire, residents may book their own Covid-19 vaccine appointment at the Dallas Fair Park Community Vaccination Center. The country has increased its available supply of messenger RNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, making the wait system unnecessary.

Over the past few months, many Dallas Fort Worth residents have been frustrated over the long waiting period and effort required to find an available vaccine. This self-scheduling program should reduce the wait time, improve efficiency and increase vaccine access throughout the Metroplex.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a press release, “There is plenty of vaccines. What’s stopping you from getting yours this week?”

Residents who are 55 and older do not need an appointment to get their Covid-19 vaccine. Those who meet the age requirements may bring a photo ID to Gates 2 and 10 during regular operating hours. The full calendar with operations hours is listed here.

Dallas County continues to set the bar high through its efforts to ensure equitable vaccine access. The County partnered with the Office of Emergency Management to offer the Covid-19 vaccine to homebound residents who cannot physically get to a vaccine site. Many older adults and people with disabilities face challenges finding access to Covid-19 vaccination. The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) and Meals on Wheels programs will bring Covid-19 vaccines to the homes of our city’s senior and most vulnerable population.

The FDA-approved Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are currently in use, offering 95% protection against Covid-19. The Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna use messenger RNA (mRNA). A single strand of mRNA delivers instructions to human cells to produce an antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

The Moderna vaccine is approved for those 18 years old and up. The Pfizer vaccine is approved starting at age 16. Both vaccines are highly effective in preventing death

The CDC and FDA hit the pause button on the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson vaccine on April 14 after six cases of a rare clotting disorder have been identified out of the 6.8 million US doses given. This news comes as the single-dose vaccine is in short supply due to a Baltimore facility’s manufacturing problems.

Source: FDA Twitter.com

The CDC convened a meeting on Wednesday, April 15, with the Advisory Committee on Immunization to determine the next steps. The US is addressing concerns for a potential link between the vaccine and rare clotting disorders seriously. The committee plans to continue the Johnson and Johnson vaccine pause until more research and data analytics can be done.

Many fear this move by the FDA and CDC may increase vaccine hesitancy. Others highlight the transparency and quick action should inspire public confidence by the regulatory agencies. Despite the Johnson and Johnson setback, The US has enough supply of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine to provide coverage for any adult who wants it.

Many vaccine-hesitant individuals express fears over the vaccine approval process. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a strict protocol for vaccine approval. Enough data to qualify for emergency use authorization of the Covid-19 vaccines was made possible because of the substantial $10 billion financial investment combined with the virus’s high prevalence worldwide. The FDA did not rush the vaccine approval. It was well-funded, and there were a massive number of trial candidates. AN EFFECTIVE VACCINE IS ONLY USEFUL IF PEOPLE GET IT.

Thanks to the Dallas County Health and Human Services department, residents will be able to get the protection they need.

Resident can book a Covid-19 vaccine appointment in Dallas here or call 1-888-IMMUNE9.

The post Dallas County Residents Can Now Schedule a Same-Day Covid-19 Vaccine appeared first on Medika Life.

Barrier After Barrier

“How do I get a vaccine?” It’s the singular question on the mind of the nation. 

The process has proven challenging for many. A recent study found that 4 in 10 adults found the vaccine process difficult, and another 4 in 10 adults reported needing assistance to schedule their vaccination (KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Dashboard). Now, imagine the vaccination process with even more barriers. Maybe you know where to go to get a vaccine but you don’t have reliable transportation. Maybe you’re told to find vaccine information online, but you don’t have internet access.

Access to the internet is a privilege that many take for granted. The US Census reported that more than a million people in Texas alone do not have access to internet at home (“Presence and Types of Internet Subscriptions at Home”). For those returning to society after years away, like the formerly incarcerated, the internet is a mystery of science fiction. Many states released inmates early to decrease prison population density during the pandemic, but for those who have been away for a decade or more, the new world is inaccessible.

“People would say things like they were so simple.” said Hudson, 57. “‘Listen, go to your browser and open this up.’ I’m like, ‘Who is the browser?’”

-“Former prisoners struggle to re-enter society. What happens when society moves online?” by Alexandra Marquez

Even if you’re lucky enough to have reliable transportation and internet access, be digitally literate, and be able to flex your schedule to suit whatever appointment you can get, there’s still one more condition to meet. English. For the limited English proficient, Deaf, and hard of hearing, vaccine information can be almost impossible to obtain.

Lost in Interpretation

In California, native Mixteco speakers don’t know the details of their own care because there are no available interpreters. Cultural incompetent systems pair Mixteco speakers with Hispanic interpreters who speak a different dialect. This apples-to-oranges solution leaves patients scared and alone, unable to advocate for themselves.

“I feel a lot of sadness in my heart, because I don’t know what’s going to happen to my husband, and I don’t know what his condition is,” she said through an interpreter on Feb. 19, as her husband lay in a hospital bed. “He’s suffering a lot in that place … He tells me people come and give him injections, he wants to know what they are, but he doesn’t understand.”

– “Hospitalized For COVID-19 Without Information: What Californians Who Speak an Indigenous Language Often Face” by Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Linguistic barriers aren’t reserved for unique cases of rare dialects. California’s large Spanish-speaking population faces the same struggle. “Rosa Lazarovits, a Ventura-based marriage and family therapist who works mainly with Latinx seniors, said many of her patients have expressed panic over not knowing how to get vaccinated. The county does have an online portal with vaccine information in Spanish. But many seniors don’t know how to navigate the internet, she said” (Boyd-Barrett, Claudia).

A Virginia hotline sought to make vaccine information more accessible by providing a phone number in addition to online services. The problem? Interpreters weren’t available in enough languages. “Only two languages were offered when callers dialed in — ‘press 1 for English’ or ’press 2 for Spanish.’ But Virginia is home to speakers of many other languages — Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, Mongolian, Amharic and dozens more — who would need the help of [interpreters] to get their place in line for a vaccine” (Pradhan, Rachana).

In addition to facing language barriers, many minority populations distrust the healthcare system. This leads to even lower vaccination rates in those who are able to access vaccination information. Connecticut is seeing that impact in their community. “New data released from DPH showed that of the nearly 12,000 Black residents who were 75 and older and eligible to receive the vaccine, only 2,248 had received the first dosage. For the Hispanic population, of the nearly 8,000 eligible to receive the vaccine, only 2,780 receive their first dosage” (Moody, Dominique).

The reality is that equitable vaccine distribution is not a local issue. It’s a global one. WHO published a vaccine equity declaration in January, stating that “I“In the majority of low- and middle-income countries, vaccination has not even started which is a catastrophe as hospitals fill up,”,” (World Health Organization).

Putting Accessibility at the Forefront

We’re making strides to correct low vaccination numbers in minority populations, but since we already knew that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts these groups, it’s fair to ask: Why weren’t these measures implemented in the first place?

“You need to proactively plan,” said Christensen Lundin. “You’re not going to do a great job serving people if what you’re doing is reacting three minutes (after) someone told you they had a language need and you’re scrambling to figure it out.”

– “Hospitalized For COVID-19 Without Information: What Californians Who Speak an Indigenous Language Often Face” by Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Accessibility cannot be an afterthought. The failure to provide care accommodations costs lives. To that end, we have not only failed our minority communities. We have failed as a community, as a nation, and as a people.

How do we correct such an egregious failure? We have to look to the people already dedicated to overcoming healthcare disparities, and let them lead larger initiatives with leadership buy-in. Supervisor of Interpreter Services for CentraCare Health in Minnesota, Laura Cranston, knew that misinformation, work schedules, and community trepidation were huge stumbling blocks for her community. Cranston set up COVID testing facilities in the parking lots of local businesses that employed minority workers. She also worked with community leaders to disperse accurate vaccine information. “I encourage everyone to use all available communication channels,” she said. “You have to reach your communities where they are instead of trying to make them come to you.”

Resources

Boyd-Barrett, Claudia. “Hospitalized For COVID-19 Without Information: What Californians Who Speak an Indigenous Language Often Face.” California Health Report, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.calhealthreport.org/2021/02/18/hospitalized-for-covid-19-and-no-information-what-californians-who-speak-an-indigenous-language-often-face/.

“KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Dashboard.” KFF, 30 Mar. 2021, www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/dashboard/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-dashboard. 

Marquez, Alexandra. “Former Prisoners Struggle to Re-Enter Society. What Happens When Society Moves Online?” NBC News, 29 Mar. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/former-prisoners-struggle-re-enter-society-happens-society-moves-onlin-rcna518.

Moody, Dominique. “Federal, Local, and Health Leaders Push for Vaccine Equity.” NBC Connecticut, 16 Feb. 2021, www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/federal-local-and-health-leaders-push-for-vaccine-equity/2423924.

Pradhan, Rachana. “‘Press 1 for English’: Vaccination Sign-Ups Prove Daunting for Speakers of Other Languages.” Kaiser Health News, 22 Mar. 2021, www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-03-22/vaccination-sign-ups-prove-daunting-for-speakers-of-other-languages?fbclid=IwAR3wQYigSCCan2tzra98Ldg7dfsVVjMIRCmrRQng-eCJmixSx3_joU89SVw.

“PRESENCE AND TYPES OF INTERNET SUBSCRIPTIONS IN HOUSEHOLD.” United States Census Bureau, www.data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B28002&g=0100000US.04000.001&tid=ACSDT1Y2018.B28002. Accessed 8 Apr. 2021.

World Health Organization. “Vaccine Equity Declaration.” World Health Organization, www.who.int/campaigns/annual-theme/year-of-health-and-care-workers-2021/vaccine-equity-declaration. Accessed 8 Apr. 2021.

The post Vaccine Distribution is Failing Our Minority Populations appeared first on Medika Life.

Globally, huge swathes of the world have yet to see a Covid Vaccine, let alone stand in line for the immunizing effects of the vaccine. As with much of everything else we develop, poor countries suck on the hind tit of humanity. Last in line, these hand-me-down societies live off the charity of their more affluent neighbors, and all too frequently that charity is not forthcoming. It’s often not even related to charity, but rather the fact that wealthy countries are able to outbid their poorer neighbors for pretty much anything on offer on the global markets.

Covid vaccines have underlined this global wealth divide and Immunity Passports (IP) will be the final nail in the coffin, cutting off citizens of these countries from the benefit of travel and effectively isolating them until the world decides its time to vaccinate their populations. Wealth buys privilege, or in this instance, the right to travel.

This article isn’t about how we’ve decided to distribute available vaccine stock. That’s another 30-page thesis on its own, an example of how man prefers his wealthy neighbor over the poorer cousin, measuring humanity with the yardstick of wealth. This article will instead examine how Immunity Passports are an unwise, unethical knee-jerk reaction and will be abused for the purposes of discriminating against those who have not been vaccinated, either through choice or as a result of poverty.

Denying Choice is a Slippery Path

The general consensus is that you are free to decide if you want to be vaccinated or not. That’s the theory. The actual truth is that you aren’t. Far from it. You have no choice in the matter, not with the introduction of IP’s which will be utilized in the following way, despite claims these are simply being issued for travel (a fallacy we’ll expose further into the article)

• simple access to public resources will be limited to those who are able to produce an IP
• Health clubs, hairdressers, restaurants, and other retailers will begin to institute selective practices, favoring those who carry an IP. The image of the unvaccinated crowded unceremoniously into an isolated space in a restaurant, considered laughable months ago, is rapidly becoming a reality.
• Unthinkable, but a very real possibility, is the way in which IP’s could be used to selectively affect patients’ access to healthcare and cover. This practice is already prevalent in the UK. 
• Access to employment, finance, and housing will be determined by this innocuous-looking document that carries the simple term “vaccinated”. Why would vaccination affect your ability to loan money? Simple risk calculations. As an unvaccinated individual, you pose a higher risk.

Any sane, rational person that does not clearly see the opportunity to segregate, divide and discriminate against those that have not been vaccinated, clearly doesn’t understand the situation. The IP is merely a way to label and legitimize the process. 

Personal liberties and the right to choice aside, would you trust governments, who have proved themselves over and over to have no concern for their constituents, not to abuse an IP or the data it provides them with.

Would you trust the corporate world not to abuse these documents? It may not even devolve to individual businesses denying unvaccinated individuals access to their services. Local state and government-issued regulations may enforce this on small local businesses. Your child may face homeschooling or segregated classrooms if unvaccinated. 

These concerns are not ridiculous overreactions but very real outcomes faced by societies that seek to introduce an IP. I urge you to kick, scream and actively seek to prevent your country from engaging in what is in effect, a form of branding. A digital mark, not embedded in your skin, but attached to your name, your face, and your life. 

The only people who ever consider branding their citizens a good idea are the authoritarian that control that society. 

Are we safe from IP holders?

There is the issue of those who have been infected and acquired immunity naturally. Are they issued with a similar passport? A recent study by Public Health England showed natural infection confers similar immunity vaccination (the SIREN study). There are also reasons to believe natural immunity might reduce transmission (by specific antibodies in the airways, called IgA).

Problematic issues exist here too. Tests for antibodies are notoriously unreliable and issuing someone an IP that is based on a false positive can endanger their lives and those they come into contact with.

Opponents of immunity passports point out (correctly) that we do not know for certain the degree to which natural infection or vaccination reduces the risk of transmission. It is a grave moral issue that we still do not know this, and whether for ethical or political reasons, trials scheduled for January 2021 to infect healthy volunteers have again been postponed. 

It is most likely that natural or vaccination immunity reduces but does not eliminate the chance of reinfection or transmission.

It is probable we will have to live with COVID, as we live with influenza. Vaccines are unlikely to be a magic bullet and the chances of eliminating the virus from circulation are zero. Covid will become our new influenza and a return to sanity on the back of a horribly managed pandemic will result in society looking back in ten years’ time with amazement at our current pandemic strategies. 

Between then and now, we still have ample time and opportunity to further derail our societies. Immunity Passports represent one of those opportunities.

Who is the driving force behind the IP agenda?

Airlines were at the fore of IP issuance in late December of 2020, insisting it would release their industry from the Covid stranglehold and open up the airways once more to free and unrestricted travel, both locally and abroad. The idea has been rolling around in the press since early May of 202, with IPs seen as a route out of quarantine for at least a segment of the population.

The WHO came out in criticism of the plan, citing concerns over the efficacy of testing protocols and uncertainty as to the duration of immunity and the ability of vaccinated individuals to transmit the virus. Israel, in the meantime, has stepped to the forefront, announcing green booklets for the vaccinated. 

The booklet would offer vaccinated individuals significant freedom from Covid-19 safety restrictions. People holding it would no longer have to do the following:

Go into isolation after coming in contact with an infected person.

Go into isolation after international traveling to a Covid “red zone,” or countries with very high infection rates.

Have to be tested before entering certain touristy areas, known as “green islands.”

Interestingly, recovered patients who have not been vaccinated are not eligible for the booklet, so the Israeli policy is clearly designed to enforce vaccination. You can see how this opens a whole host of problems, not the least being the possibility of these individuals being able to freely carry and transmit new strains between borders.

The issue of data security

This is a huge concern. There is growing evidence that the APIs used in health-based applications are woefully inadequate. Security breaches regularly occur and the dark web prizes medical data above all else. It is one of the most sought-after commodities. Secure someone’s medical data and you have their life history in your hands.

Health data is a prime target for hackers and the digital health community has been completely lax in addressing glaring holes in their security protocols, holes that are resulting in your data being siphoned off right now, as you read this. 

Apple and Google are currently turning their attention to the creation and management of digital IPs. It’s an indicator of just how far down the path we have come and of what’s to come. If you have no concern with your data being sold to the highest bidder, then this issue won’t affect you.

For the rest of us though, who value our privacy, this one issue on its own is sufficient reason to ditch the entire IP program. Health and data security aren’t in a great place yet and it may take decades for the industry to impose secure protocols.

A final thought before I leave you for the supporters of IP, and one that may yet provide a form of ironic justice should the plans for IP come to fruition. We still have no idea of the eventual impacts of vaccination on our societies and, God forbid, in the event of there being long-term consequences, the governments will have you labeled for easy monitoring.. 

The fact that the wealthy and priviledged are first in line for IPs will at that point be of little consolation.

Covid Vaccination — Our Stance

While there is no clear evidence on the long-term effects of the various covid vaccines, we encourage at-risk populations, essential care workers, and other frontline individuals such as teachers and law enforcement to seek out vaccination at the earliest opportunity. Short-term safety is now well established and the benefits offered by the vaccine are considerable. We are not anti-vaccine! 

We are however pro-choice and the right to choose is an integral part of a free and healthy society. IPs will compromise this ability.

Further Reading

1. The Ada Lovelace Institute: The Ada Lovelace Institute is monitoring the development of vaccine passports and COVID status apps in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

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