No Joke

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$1.95 Billion and counting...

No kidding around, this is no joke: even in the midst of a global health crisis, capitalism just can’t resist turning the screws. The New York Times yesterday reported on Pfizer’s clawing back of vaccine supplies, based on the fact that each vial of the vaccine was found by pharmacists to potentially contain six, rather than the stated five, doses. That this sixth dose was only attainable using a special syringe and needle combination not universally available was originally covered by the rider ‘…up to six doses…’ used by the FDA. Pfizer are paid by the dose, not the shipment; so, they argue they’re losing a sixth of their due on each batch: and have been lobbying the FDA to change the wording used and to count the ‘sixth’ dose toward their commitment of 200 million doses delivered by July 31st; in so doing, shipping fewer packages of the vaccine. They got their way, with the FDA, the WHO and the EU all agreeing to the ‘six doses per vial’.

Is this part of the reason why we, here in the UK (of course not affecting notably connected people such as Stanley Johnson who were given the 21-day booster), extended the delay between first and second doses when they did? Someone, somewhere needs to grow a pair and put the population of the world before the short-term self-interest of market capitalism. We are on a war footing here, as I’ve said before, and profiteering from a pandemic is not a good fit for a corporate CV at best: governments worldwide need to take control and sort this mess out. There are no second chances here, and there’s no dressing this one up: we are being held to ransom by companies and their firms of bean-counters, their investors and the hedge funds.  In the name of God, someone please sort it. Soon.

Comments

  1. Joe Stoner24 January 2021 at 16:13

    Refering to my comments yesterday Kel: The "Excuse" that capitalism gives is that it's for the pension funds! As such they are sacrosanct and anyone who's negative is ostracized! However when you're in a position where you sold ALL your pensions to fund a business your perspective changes! One of my cousins takes(took!) cruises to the Poles to send us screeds of blog and piccies of two of the most at risk environments on the planet which they got to by dumping tons of CO2 in the stratoshere and then using ships with VERY old engines that used the dirtiest "diesel" by the hundreds of tons. The stench of cant from their "witness" means that I do not read their blogs or view their piccies. I've not mentioned it but I think that most of my family can read between the lines.
    We HAVE to look at our consumptions and face the fact that we are overconsuming our Finite Planet's resources and NOT give the greedy small percentage of the world's population the cover of Pension Funds for their rape of the world's economy! Oh it seems that our kids can't afford them so they'll die out anyway!

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