The following is an excerpt from an article posted in The VOAindonesia.com | Apr 22, 2021

“Although the COVID 19 vaccine is readily available and vaccination programs launched in developed countries, figures from Phrma.org, for example, show that only 2.6% of the world’s population has received a full vaccination. Now there are initiatives that want to address the vaccine divide or the imbalance in vaccine availability.

The latest statistics show that out of 194 countries in the world, around 130 countries have not started inoculating, they do not even have a vaccination program.

Two weeks ago, more than 60 health and development organizations in America, coordinated by the advocacy organization Public Citizen, sent a letter to President Joe Biden. They asked the US government to launch a warp speed or super fast program for global vaccine production.

The program will be coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO). They also aspire to establish vaccine production facilities on every continent. Among the organizations that signed the letter were Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders, and Islamic Relief USA, an advocacy organization for Muslims in America.

One promising option is the use of MRNA technology for vaccines, because this technology is based on chemistry rather than biology, so that production facilities can be built quickly, and cheaply, and are capable of producing billions of vaccines in a short time.

Zain Rizvi, policy expert for the advocacy organization 'Public Citizen' (courtesy: Public Citizen)
Zain Rizvi, policy expert for the advocacy organization ‘Public Citizen’ (courtesy: Public Citizen)

Contacted by VOA, policy expert at ‘Public Citizen’, Zain Rizvi, said, “So we build on the lessons we learned in the past and we also have significant knowledge about new vaccine production technologies, particularly MRNA, which are really promising. both in terms of production capacity and ease of manufacture. ”

Rizvi referred to the experience from building a mass vaccine production facility when the world was faced with a bird flu pandemic and Ebola.

Doctor Budiono Santoso is a former leader of the Essential Medicines and Health Technology at WHO for the Pacific region. Contacted by VOA separately, Budiono Santoso welcomed this initiative.

“This initiative is very beneficial, both globally and nationally, for Indonesia. What we need for the COVID 19 vaccine is approximately 8 billion doses for approximately 50% of the world’s population so that herd immunity can be achieved. Meanwhile, MRNA is the most promising. The technology is only concentrated in America and European countries, so partnerships in quality production are very, very helpful, “he said.

Meanwhile, Public Citizens confirmed that they are discussing this initiative with President Biden’s administration, and will host a rally in Washington DC on May 5 in support of the letter to President Biden. With such initiatives, it is hoped that the world will truly succeed in ending the pandemic crisis of this corona virus by providing billions of doses of the COVID 19 vaccine for the entire world.”

 

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