Different Takes: Why Has Global Covid Vaccination Failed?; US Sorely Lacking In Lactation Support
Opinion writers examine covid vaccines, baby formula, and abortion issues.
The New York Times:
What Vaccine Apartheid Portends For The Climate Future
The pandemic has been furnishing new and distressing episodes almost weekly for more than two years now. But what is in retrospect perhaps the most concerning, for me, came in May 2021, when the International Monetary Fund calculated that the full cost of vaccinating the large majority of the world’s vulnerable people would be $50 billion — just 1 percent of the money spent by Congress on pandemic relief and only about half of the money the United States has spent on fighting AIDS abroad. The I.M.F. called this “A Proposal to End the Covid-19 Pandemic” and meant it. The organization suggested the global payback for that $50 billion program, by 2025, would be $9 trillion — nearly a 200-fold return — in just four years. The humanitarian gains of a global vaccination effort would have been incalculable and still are. The diplomatic gains, as well. (David Wallace-Wells, 5/24)
Miami Herald:
Baby Formula Crisis Highlights Moms' Need For More Breastfeeding Resources, Support
It was probably inevitable that the baby formula shortage would devolve into a noxious quarrel between the breastfeeding and formula-feeding camps. Within days of the now weeks-long crisis finally hitting the mainstream news cycle, social-media feeds were filling up with all kinds of thoughtless commentary. Some iteration of, “Can’t find formula? Try breastfeeding,” was a common refrain. As was: “How about trusting women to do what’s best for them and their babies.” (Cynthia M. Allen, 5/24)
The Washington Post:
Why We Are Opening A New Abortion Clinic In Maryland
A dear friend reached out a few weeks ago. They asked, “What’s the plan for the Bad Day in June?” Meaning, the day we expect Roe v. Wade to be overturned and a massive rollback of civil and human rights to ensue. We discussed coping strategies: stocking up on comfort foods and favorite beers, hand-selecting the people we’d want to be with — the colleagues we felt closest to, the ones we loved the most, the ones who were going to quietly pass the tissues when we couldn’t hold back the tears. (Morgan Nuzzo, 5/20)
The New York Times:
Abortion Questions For Justice Alito And His Supreme Court Allies
Now that the Oklahoma State Legislature has voted to ban abortion from the moment of conception, I have a few questions for Justice Samuel Alito and any others who would join him in overturning Roe v. Wade: What is your reaction to the news from Oklahoma? The State Legislature gave final approval last Thursday to a bill that would prohibit nearly all abortions, starting at fertilization. It now awaits the signature of the governor, who has pledged to make Oklahoma “the most pro-life state in the country.” (Linda Greenhouse, 5/24)
The Colorado Sun:
Zornio: It’s Time To Repeal Colorado’s Ban On Using Public Funds For Abortion
Last week, Gov. Jared Polis appeared on Colorado Matters with host Ryan Warner. The opening question was as straightforward as it gets: “Do you support removing the ban on state funding for abortion?” For pro-choice supporters — which Polis claims to be — the answer should have been a simple “yes.” But Polis refused to answer the question directly. Instead, after multiple follow-ups, the governor ultimately resorted to a condescending dismissal of Warner’s question as “hypothetical” and falsely likened abortion to a “nose job.” (Trish Zornio, 5/23)
