The countries that lead the vaccination in the world 0:57
Editor's Note:
Melissa Mahtani is a senior producer and reporter for CNN's Live News team.
The opinions expressed in this column belong exclusively to the author.
Read more opinion pieces on CNN.
(CNN) ––
Vaccine guilt is real.
And although it does not make sense from a rational point of view, emotions are not rational.
Last Saturday I received the Moderna vaccine against covid-19.
He was eligible to receive it under New York City regulations, due to an underlying medical condition.
However, it was not among my plans to do so.
I do have pre-existing conditions, but I have them under control.
I am also very aware that there are other people –– teachers, health workers, adults over 60–– who need it more than I do.
As the number of people in these groups receiving the vaccine increased, my plan was to wait until everyone could get vaccinated.
Also, I was hoping that my family in Zambia would also get the dose at that time.
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Losing one of our closest family friends, whom I consider to be my uncle, last month prompted me to get vaccinated.
Originally from Yorkshire, Great Britain, he had lived in Zambia for most of his life, like many other expats in the former British colony.
When he caught the coronavirus, even being in his 80s couldn't secure a bed in an overcrowded hospital and he was not admitted.
That caused him to suffer a stroke and ultimately make it to an intensive care unit, where he lived his last days, connected to a respirator.
If he had been to Britain, or any other rich country, he probably would have received treatment immediately, or would have received the vaccine.
And possibly still alive.
The tragedy was even worse as his family and friends were unable to say goodbye in person due to having covid-19.
Like many others around the world who have not been able to say goodbye to their loved ones.
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Losing him was difficult.
Understanding that it could be the case with my parents and that I would not be able to see them or say goodbye to them if they caught the virus was worse.
Thousands of miles away, had he seen them for the last time?
That disturbing thought made me understand that I should get the vaccine that they offered me here.
That way I could be closer to seeing my parents in case of an emergency.
However, anyway, I felt guilty for being able to get vaccinated when they, who need it more than I do because of their age and serious underlying conditions, could not.
My husband made the appointment for me to receive the first dose and I immediately cried.
I felt like I was being selfish.
On the way to the appointment, I was distraught that we live in such an unfair world, where someone like me can get vaccinated and thousands of people can't, and they may not have access to it for a long time.
Don't get me wrong.
Am I grateful to have been vaccinated?
Of course yes.
Everyone should get vaccinated.
My only wish is that everyone can do it.
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While my family was happy for me - they even opened a special bottle of wine to celebrate - I wept with guilt.
Meanwhile, I was overcome by the feeling that, somehow, I had been chosen to live and they had not.
I know that doesn't make sense, but despite being one step closer to being able to see them, I felt and still feel that, in a way, I will never see them again.
I rationally understand that this is not true, but I can't shake that feeling.
I would give anything to be able to give up my dose so that they would receive it.
I feel so sad and guilty because I can get vaccinated and they can't.
The worst thing is not knowing when they will be able to do it.
According to Our World in Data, there are currently 67 nations in the world that have absolutely no access to vaccines.
Don't your citizens count?
Doesn't every human life count?
What makes my life more valuable than theirs?
Why don't all pharmaceutical companies strive to vaccinate every life on planet Earth against a disease that has been shown to infect anyone, regardless of citizenship, age, race, or social status?
Shouldn't the treatment of the virus be just as comprehensive?
No one in the world can be safe when others are at risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
Didn't the global pandemic teach us just that?
The pace of vaccine delivery is largely dependent on the pharmaceutical giants.
These companies, backed by the governments that fund them, are so far reluctant to share their patents.
Which, critics point out, amounts to choosing profit over human life.
Instead, they have contributed to a global vaccine delivery program called COVAX, which seeks to reduce vaccine inequality.
COVAX uses donations from governments and multilateral institutions to buy vaccines for the poorest nations that cannot take on contracts with Big Pharma.
It's a good start, but getting enough supplies has been difficult.
Partly because the richest countries asked for more than they need.
Sharing the patents could help.
As Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, recently said, AstraZeneca is "the only company that has pledged not to take advantage of its COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic."
And he noted the considerable contribution the company has made to vaccine equity, "by licensing its technology to several other companies."
Among them, companies from Korea and India that produce more than 90% of the vaccines distributed by COVAX.
WHO asks to destroy vials of covid-19 vaccines 1:04
I am not suggesting that sharing patents is a magic bullet or that every country has the capacity or the facilities to make vaccines.
But in the face of a global pandemic, we should all do our best to end it.
Still, earlier this month, the wealthiest members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) blocked an effort by more than 80 developing nations that sought to eliminate patent rights to increase production of COVID-19 vaccines. 19 for poor countries.
They argue that maintaining intellectual property rights encourages innovation.
Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA), told the AP agency that lifting patent protections is “a very bad sign for the future.
It sends the signal that if there is a pandemic, patents are worth nothing. '
Not sharing vaccine data or doing more to share vaccines hurts rich countries as much as poor ones.
As Dr. Tedros also noted: “An egocentric approach can serve short-term political interests.
But it is counterproductive and will lead to a protracted recovery in which trade and travel will continue to suffer… As the virus spreads anywhere, it will have more opportunities to mutate and potentially undermine the effectiveness of vaccines everywhere.
We could end up where we started again.
As we in America receive our vaccinations, we cannot forget what led us to this birthright.
The United States, for example, is a land of immigrants.
That means people born here owe their freedom and privilege to others who risked their lives to come here, just as thousands of people on the southern border are now doing.
Where are the voices that say they defend life to oppose abortion in crisis like this?
They fervently attack abortion, but I have not heard them raise their voices with the same force for the death of their compatriots in other countries.
Don't those lives matter?
Ironically, a global pandemic that should have made us understand that we are all the same, with the same worries and fears and susceptibility to disease, has perhaps made us more selfish, putting our own fears and those of our loved ones before our concern for strangers of all the world.
The love and concern I have for my family in Zambia is as valuable as the love and concern an American has for his or her family or a European for his.
It is necessary for each person to be vaccinated so that we are all collectively safe.
Until that happens, we must remain considerate and compassionate.
Also recognize our own privilege of having the resources to protect ourselves from this virus.
Covid-19 has shown us that it does not discriminate, and neither should the antidote.
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