Paula Lugones
05/19/2021 9:19 AM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 05/19/2021 9:19 AM
Joe Biden opened the door and Argentina is already on the lookout for what may be a huge opportunity to get what it needs most at this time: vaccines.
With this urgent objective, our country is making a great effort in Washington these days to demand the largest possible quantity of doses.
The president of the United States announced on Monday that he plans to send 20 million vaccines against the coronavirus abroad to cover part of the international demand and said that for the first time he
will transfer doses of the three brands approved in the United States: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
So far, the United States government has shipped about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca to Mexico and Canada, the use of which is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It had also announced on March 26 the global donation of 60 million of that brand, but when it has the green light from the FDA, something that remains uncertain.
The additional $ 20 million Biden announced
on Monday would be available by the end of June
, the president said, explaining that he would use the help of Covax (a pay-as-you-go mechanism that is governed by the World Health Organization and other health agencies) to ensure that the fate of vaccines is "fair."
Biden did not clarify if he will give the vaccines to Covax or if he will donate them directly to certain countries with the advice of that entity.
That is why, according to Clarín, the Argentine ambassador in Washington
Jorge Argüello this week began negotiations in the White House, in the State Department and with various laboratories
with the specific objective of convincing the US government that Argentina should receive the largest amount possible of those vaccines.
The ambassador will meet these days with Gayle Smith, the Coordinator for the global response to Covid of the State Department, an official who has a desk full of requests for doses from all over the planet.
Argüello also supported the efforts in the White House and has consulted experts in vaccines and laboratories.
Biden wants to place the United States as a benchmark for the distribution of vaccines
, a space that has been occupied by Beijing and Moscow.
“There is a lot of talk about the influence of China and Russia with vaccines.
We want to lead the world with our values, ”said the head of the White House on Monday.
And he clarified that "he will not ask for favors" in exchange for the doses.
Argentina is at a critical moment, with more than 70,000 deaths and a peak of cases accelerated by new and more contagious strains.
And the vaccination process progresses slowly, with difficulty in obtaining the product from various brands and parts of the planet.
Our country has already bought more than 12 million doses, most of the Russian Sputnik V (much more of the first component than the second), followed by the Chinese Sinopharm, and then the Covishield / AstraZeneca.
He has received one million from AstraZeneca through Covax.
The government, which dropped the possibility of a contract with Pfizer early in the pandemic, has not stopped after asking US officials at all levels for vaccines. President Alberto Fernández spoke before the director for the Western Hemisphere of the National Security Council, Juan González, when he visited Argentina last month, and it was also a topic of conversation with Biden's special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, at a recent meeting in Rome.
Vaccine experts who are aware of the negotiations told Clarín that, although one of the priorities for the United States is to stop the regrowth in India,
Argentina should not have problems receiving at least part of the doses
, since it is one of the countries with the most infected in the region.
They point out that our country should also convince US officials that the situation in Argentina could complicate the United States and the world.
They point out that in Argentina today the growth of cases is exponential and is attached to Brazil, which has more contagious strains.
In addition, thousands of Argentines are traveling to Miami and can introduce the new variants.
They must convince the Americans that helping Argentina is important at a global level, they point out.
But they also highlight a fact that could generate a setback: although Pfizer obtained the approval of the ANMAT in Argentina, neither Moderna nor Johnson & Johnson still have that green light, a situation that - if maintained - could complicate the shipment of those brands.
They also emphasize that the order should not be abandoned for the AstraZeneca doses, which are already approved in our country, and that in the US they are stored in the US without destination.
The massive use of vaccines in the United States (Pfizer and Moderna are the most used) has drastically reduced the number of deaths and infections from end to end of the country.
They have even been shown to be highly effective in combating Covid 19 and also its new variants in Brazil and India, as reported yesterday by Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the top local experts.
Until now
, Biden's priority has been to collect vaccines to immunize Americans
and he has managed to get 60% of the population to receive at least one dose.
Boys between 12 and 15 years old are already immunized, while those who are fully vaccinated today can circulate without a mask and without keeping social distance.
The United States has purchased enough doses of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson to inoculate 150 million more than the entire US population (320 million).
The Government has also already bought 110 million doses of Novavax, which is expected to be authorized soon.
And it also has 300 million doses of AstraZeneca in storage (enough to vaccinate 150 million people) that have not yet received approval.
Against this background, the pressures on Biden are very strong: from all over the planet, and even within his own Democratic party, they ask him to release the hundreds of millions of vaccines that he does not use to help countries where the situation is dramatic.
Biden has already taken a step and Argentina seeks to take advantage of the play.
PDL
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