Inoculating Humanity

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a matter of satisfaction and relief for the entire world that after a series of clinical trials, a 90-year-old British grandmother became the first person in the world to receive the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Amidst apprehensions, many countries will devise their plans for vaccination. Unfortunately, the way entire multinational pharmaceutical lobby is behaving during the global pandemic, and how the WTO regime and proponents of globalisation are catering to their profit vulturism is disgusting and shameful. We need to adopt a right approach in inoculating this vaccine as it will decide the nature of future global order.

 

In Communist China, the State-sponsored National Pharmaceutical Group, Sinopharm, has already vaccinated almost a million people in China in its testing phase itself without releasing any credible data. And international bodies like the World Health Organisation (WHO) are not in a position to question the irresponsible behaviour of the belligerent dragon. Though China officially is selling the vaccine with a claim zero complaints post-vaccination, like the origin of the CoVid19 virus, the international community should take these claims a non-compliant ambitious power with not just a pinch but packs of salt.

 

In the Western model, amidst claims and counter-claims about the percentage of success rate and with the usual disclaimer about the side effects, the only thing that matters is the ascending shares of the Pharmaceutical companies and possible economic recovery due to the same. The ethical and economic dimensions of this approach is a matter of concern. The medical fraternity is still not very sure about the behavioural nature of the virus, forget about the vaccine. Still, market opportunity driven attitude is shaping the entire discussion on vaccination in the West along with the monopolistic approach.

 

Naturally, when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) debated a proposal by Bharat to exempt Covid-19 vaccines from intellectual property rights — pharmaceutical giants staunchly opposed the idea. How can a vaccine developed in response to the global calamity and assisted by the WHO can become an intellectual property of a company? The WTO even has to debate and discuss this provision suggests that the market globalisation can never have a human face as we had experienced in case of the HIV-AIDS.

 

Bharat, on the contrary, is fighting for the cause of developing countries with civilisational wisdom. We never believed in patenting knowledge meant for humanity for our selfish interests. Bharat is seeking multiple options to the masses. Private participation and international collaborations are not negated, but the larger objective of affordability and accessibility is also not neglected. The integration of Ayurvedic-Yogic protocols is also the unique initiative of Bharat.

 

Here, the concept of ‘familial globalisation’ proposed by one of the greatest intellectual rishis of modern Bharat, Dattopant Thengadi is relevant. Unless, we start seeing the world as a family, and while pursuing our respective national interests, learn not to extract benefits from the vulnerable, we cannot have a model of real globalisation rooted in freedom with equitability. The ethical, economic and scientific, all three dimensions are critical to the vaccination. For that, along with the CoVid19 vaccine, we also need to inoculate the fundamental values of humanity to the world.