WEBVTT - The Global Vaccine Gap

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day three, twelve

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<v Speaker 1>since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's main story

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<v Speaker 1>Rich countries have amassed the lion's share of vaccine doses,

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<v Speaker 1>and that puts the entire world's immunity at risk. But first,

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<v Speaker 1>here's what happened in virus news today. Joseph Biden was

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<v Speaker 1>sworn in as President of the United States today. High

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<v Speaker 1>on his pandemic agenda is mending the country's ties with

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<v Speaker 1>the World Health Organization. Biden plans to send Anthony Fauci,

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<v Speaker 1>the nation's top infectious disease expert, to speak at the

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<v Speaker 1>w h O Executive Board meeting this week. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>repudiation of World Trump's attitude to the organization since the

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<v Speaker 1>start of the pandemic. The Biden transition team released a

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<v Speaker 1>fact sheet this morning saying the new administration will work

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<v Speaker 1>with the w h O to strengthen and reform it.

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<v Speaker 1>Visor and its partner, bio n Tech, published results from

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<v Speaker 1>a lab trial that build the case that their vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>will protect against the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus.

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<v Speaker 1>The results published on Wednesday, add to previous research showing

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<v Speaker 1>that antibodies and the blood of people who have been

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<v Speaker 1>vaccinated were able to neutralize a version of the mutant

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<v Speaker 1>virus that was created in a lab. The new research

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<v Speaker 1>has not yet been pure reviewed. Finally, Germany's daily coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>death toll rose by the most since the pandemic began,

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<v Speaker 1>even as there are tentative signs the infection rate is

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<v Speaker 1>starting to come down. Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional leaders

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<v Speaker 1>agree to extend and titan Germany's coronavirus restrictions. Merkel called

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<v Speaker 1>on European partners to synchronize measures to contain the spread. Otherwise,

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<v Speaker 1>she said travel restrictions would be imposed. And now for

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<v Speaker 1>today's main story. In a race to catch up with

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<v Speaker 1>emerging coronavirus variants, wealthy countries are already benefiting from potent vaccines,

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<v Speaker 1>while the US, Britain and the European Union have given

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<v Speaker 1>citizens about twenty four million doses so far, more than

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<v Speaker 1>half of the shots of Minister. Globally, vast numbers of

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<v Speaker 1>countries have yet to begin their campaigns. I spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>London based reporter James Payton, who says these disparities pose

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<v Speaker 1>a threat to both have and have not states. I

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<v Speaker 1>was wondering if you might break this down for US

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<v Speaker 1>a bit, what's the economics at heart here behind a

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<v Speaker 1>country's ability to secure and distribute COVID nineteen vaccines. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a good question. So the world in a way

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<v Speaker 1>is splitting into two tiers. Today. We see wealthier countries,

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<v Speaker 1>as you say, including the US, Britain, members of the

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<v Speaker 1>European Union, ramp up their immunization campaigns, and despite some

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<v Speaker 1>inevitable snags along the way, those efforts are are progressing

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<v Speaker 1>their well under way. At the same time, many developing

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<v Speaker 1>and middle income nations around the world have yet to

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<v Speaker 1>begin their rollouts or they're only just starting up. And

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<v Speaker 1>just this week the head of the World Health Organizations

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<v Speaker 1>set around fifty hiring comb nations had begun their vaccine

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<v Speaker 1>drive US and we keep track of this at Bloomberg. Globally,

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<v Speaker 1>the Bloomberg Tracker shows almost uh fifty million doses so

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<v Speaker 1>far have been administered. The problem is only one of

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<v Speaker 1>the world's lowest income countries had had started as of

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of days ago, according to the w h O,

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<v Speaker 1>and had given just twenty five doses to individuals. That's

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<v Speaker 1>to five doses. Now, people who have been following this

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<v Speaker 1>issue closely won't be surprised that there's a gap, because

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<v Speaker 1>the world has been moving in this direction for some months,

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<v Speaker 1>with major economies like the US and and UK aggressively

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<v Speaker 1>snapping up billions of doses in recent months and striking

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<v Speaker 1>supply deals with manufacturers. But now here we are in

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<v Speaker 1>a situation where there's a risk of a widening immunity gap.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course there are significant ethical considerations. You talk

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<v Speaker 1>about the fairness of this, which is a huge factor.

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<v Speaker 1>The director of the who said the world and his

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<v Speaker 1>words is now in the brink of a catastrophic moral failure.

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<v Speaker 1>But this is also a huge public health and economic

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<v Speaker 1>problem potentially as well. You know, widespread deployment of vaccines

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<v Speaker 1>is seen by disease authorities as well as financial experts

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<v Speaker 1>as the as the key to getting the virus under

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<v Speaker 1>control reviving battered economies. So the implications are significant no

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<v Speaker 1>matter where you are. And and obviously if we allow

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<v Speaker 1>the virus to continue to advance in large parts of

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<v Speaker 1>the world without vaccines to protect the population, then the

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<v Speaker 1>virus could get an edge and we could see new

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<v Speaker 1>variants and you know, the level of concern could rise.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's why this is such an urgent issue, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and why there's a need, you know, according to public

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<v Speaker 1>health authorities to move swiftly here. Now, as you say,

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<v Speaker 1>there have been numerous calls and certainly efforts to make

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine distribution more equitable around the globe. One such effort

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<v Speaker 1>is something called KOVACS, and I was wondering if you

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<v Speaker 1>might talk a bit about what its role has been

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of this equity debate. Yeah, So, as you say,

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<v Speaker 1>there have been ambitious global efforts to tackle this disparity.

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<v Speaker 1>To address this problem, many months ago, the w h

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<v Speaker 1>O and a group called GAV the Vaccine Alliance and SEPPI,

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<v Speaker 1>the Coalition for Epademic Preparedness Innovations, formed this program called

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<v Speaker 1>KOVACS as you say, too, and the goal is basically,

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<v Speaker 1>too equitably deploy vaccines to every corner of the planet.

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<v Speaker 1>And UM, this initiative recently announced that it had secured

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<v Speaker 1>I believe it was almost two billion doses for the

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<v Speaker 1>world and would start rolling out those UH inoculations in

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<v Speaker 1>the first months of one that that could begin in

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<v Speaker 1>earnest in February, I believe. But again, the w h

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<v Speaker 1>O this week issued some pretty dire comments, suggesting that

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<v Speaker 1>several countries had expressed concern about whether KOVACS would have

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<v Speaker 1>enough vaccines to meet demand, and that with UM so

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<v Speaker 1>many countries now pursuing their own direct supply agreements with

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<v Speaker 1>manufacturers rather than going through KOVACS, that it could jeopardize

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<v Speaker 1>global collaboration and even bump up the prices of vaccines,

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<v Speaker 1>which which would further exacerbate the challenge of getting doses

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<v Speaker 1>to the developing world. So some of the experts I've

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<v Speaker 1>talked to point out that UM some countries now are

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<v Speaker 1>getting increasingly anxious about the timing and the quantities of

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<v Speaker 1>of COVID vaccine doses. We're seeing a flurry of these

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<v Speaker 1>bilateral negotiations between countries and drugmakers that are proceeding separately

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<v Speaker 1>from KOVACS. UH. And you know, vaccine advocates are are

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<v Speaker 1>aware of this problem, and so they've called on countries

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<v Speaker 1>and companies to to take some steps to address it.

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<v Speaker 1>So they're significant work and discussion underway. Though clearly the

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<v Speaker 1>know the urgency is growing as we as we enter

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<v Speaker 1>a new phase of the pandemic ine and I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to go back to something you were talking about a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit earlier, which is the proportion to which countries,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly wealthy countries, have been able to secure specific vaccines.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, what is the distribution in terms of say

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<v Speaker 1>the supply of Fiser vaccines versus Moderna vaccines or even

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<v Speaker 1>say the astro Zenica vaccine. Which type of vaccine is

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<v Speaker 1>going to which country. Yeah, it's a really interesting question,

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<v Speaker 1>so UM and some of the people I have talked

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<v Speaker 1>to have suggested that this isn't just a question of

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<v Speaker 1>access to vaccines globally, but it's also an issue of

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<v Speaker 1>access to highly potent vaccines or the best vaccines. And

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<v Speaker 1>the arrival of shots from Fiser and Maderna, both of

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<v Speaker 1>which generated efficacy levels of around n pretty remarkable results

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<v Speaker 1>in late stage clinical trials, that has sparked the question

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<v Speaker 1>of whether the entire world will be able to secure

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<v Speaker 1>the same level of protection UH for their populations, and

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<v Speaker 1>wealthy countries have have largely bought up the doses of

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<v Speaker 1>those two vaccines. The data that we've that we've seen

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<v Speaker 1>shows UM that they've high incombinations have secured something like

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<v Speaker 1>of the fives or doses and a of the Madurna

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<v Speaker 1>doses UM. Thus far now much of the world is

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<v Speaker 1>going to be relying on vaccines from astros Eneca, the

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<v Speaker 1>UK drug maker and its partner, the University of Oxford,

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<v Speaker 1>along with the Chinese company called sign Avac, potentially a

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<v Speaker 1>vaccine from Johnson and Johnson. The number of others that

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<v Speaker 1>are that are coming uh soon potentially now, even if

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<v Speaker 1>those vaccines don't match the same headline efficacy numbers. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>these vaccines have been tested for their ability to prevent symptoms.

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<v Speaker 1>Health authorities say that when it comes to preventing severe

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<v Speaker 1>disease and suffering and deaths UM the most important factors

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<v Speaker 1>to consider. The data we've seen so far suggests that

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<v Speaker 1>the first vaccines could be comparable, but all of these

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<v Speaker 1>vaccines could end up diverging in terms of side effects

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<v Speaker 1>and how long their protection could last, how efficient they

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<v Speaker 1>are in actually stopping the spread of the virus, which

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<v Speaker 1>will become even more critical I think in the coming months.

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<v Speaker 1>So the jury is still out and it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>be important to consider some of those issues in light

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<v Speaker 1>of the access disparities we're seeing. Clearly, the first vaccines

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<v Speaker 1>out of the gates UM, you know, those wealthy countries

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<v Speaker 1>have been quite aggressive in buying up those doses. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>But astros Eneka and the University of Oxford in particular

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<v Speaker 1>UM are seen as playing a really critical role now

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<v Speaker 1>in getting vaccines to the rest of the world. As

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<v Speaker 1>we've been talking about, wealthier nations have been able to

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<v Speaker 1>secure in some cases not just enough doses to immunize

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<v Speaker 1>their populations, but actually double the amount of doses they

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<v Speaker 1>would need to immunize their populations, Specifically countries such as Canada,

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<v Speaker 1>or the UK, or even the US. How have these

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<v Speaker 1>nations reacted thus far to calls for them perhaps to

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<v Speaker 1>share their doses. Um they're unused doses or doses that

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<v Speaker 1>they have secured but may not actually need. Yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a good question. We have seen some steps by uh,

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<v Speaker 1>some wealthy countries in in recent days and weeks. I

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<v Speaker 1>believe Canada has pledged to invest in a mechanism to

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<v Speaker 1>redistribute doses. Norway just said it would donate some extra supplies. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>So there is you know, plenty of focus on this

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<v Speaker 1>issue and reason to think that you know, some of

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<v Speaker 1>these efforts to narrow that divide I will succeed and

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<v Speaker 1>that that UM, some of these countries may you know,

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<v Speaker 1>share some of these doses, reallocate some of these doses.

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<v Speaker 1>Um uh. But you know, this is a scenario that

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<v Speaker 1>people have been warning about for about a year, and

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<v Speaker 1>there there is some skepticism about when, you know when

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<v Speaker 1>that will happen. Um. I think it's also important to

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<v Speaker 1>stress that with the incoming Biden administration, we're likely to

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<v Speaker 1>see some major moves to shake up the vaccine effort

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<v Speaker 1>in the COVID response, and that could have interesting implications

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<v Speaker 1>that have a ripple effect well beyond US borders. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there are signs that the US now is

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<v Speaker 1>set to join KOVACS and re engage with the World

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<v Speaker 1>Health Organization. So that could be a turning point in

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<v Speaker 1>a way. We'll just have to wait and see. But

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<v Speaker 1>in the global effort, that could be um, that could

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<v Speaker 1>be significant. That was James Payton and that's it for

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<v Speaker 1>our show today. For coverage of the outbreak from one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred twenty bureaus around the world, visit Bloomberg dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash coronavirus and if you like the show, please leave

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<v Speaker 1>us a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the best way to help more listeners find our

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<v Speaker 1>global reporting. The Prognosis Daily edition is produced by Tophra

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<v Speaker 1>Foreheads Magnus Hendrickson and me Laura Carlson. Today's main story

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<v Speaker 1>was reported by James Payton. Original music by Leo Sidrin.

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<v Speaker 1>Our editors are Rick Shine and Francesco Levi. Francesco Levi

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<v Speaker 1>is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Thanks for listening in color

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<v Speaker 1>and