Trump’s ‘America First’ Attitude Toward Vaccine Could Be Devastating To Rest Of World, Experts Warn
Fears that the United States will trample other countries to secure a vaccine prompted more than 140 world leaders to sign an open letter to all governments demanding that COVID-19 vaccines be considered a “global good” to be shared equitably. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he would mobilize the military to help distribute a vaccine once it's ready, with a focus on nursing homes and the elderly.
Stat:
Under Trump, Will The U.S. Corner The Market On Covid-19 Vaccine?
The United States is sprinting headlong toward the development and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. But under an “America First” president, public health experts worry, the United States could seek to gobble up early supplies — and set the stage for prolonged devastation in the rest of the world. (Branswell, 5/15)
The Washington Post:
Sanofi Coronavirus Vaccine Shouldn't Go To U.S. First, France Says
It would be "unacceptable" for French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to give the United States first access to a potential coronavirus vaccine, French government officials said Thursday. The pushback came after comments by Sanofi chief executive Paul Hudson. “The U.S. government has the right to the largest preorder because it’s invested in taking the risk,” Hudson told Bloomberg News in a story published Wednesday. The United States, Hudson said, expanded its investment in the company’s vaccine research in February and thus expects that “if we’ve helped you manufacture the doses at risk, we expect to get the doses first.” (McAuley, 5/14)
CBS News:
Trump Says He Would Mobilize Military To Distribute Coronavirus Vaccine When It's Ready
President Trump says he would "rapidly" mobilize the U.S. military to distribute a coronavirus vaccine once it's ready, focusing first on nursing homes and the elderly most vulnerable to deadly complications from the virus. Mr. Trump made the comments during an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo. "We're mobilizing our military and other forces but we're mobilizing our military on the basis that we do have a vaccine. You know, it's a massive job to give this vaccine. Our military is now being mobilized so at the end of the year we're going to be able to give it to a lot of people very, very rapidly," the president said. (Watson, 5/14)
Reuters:
Novartis CEO Says Any New Coronavirus Vaccine Will Take Two Years: Newspaper
Any vaccine to fight the new coronavirus will not be ready for use for at least two years, the chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which no longer makes vaccines itself, told a German newspaper. Novartis sold its vaccine business in 2015 to GlaxoSmithKline, one of many companies around the world now racing to make a drug. Some companies are already testing vaccine candidates on humans. (5/15)
