Writes Althea, Content Writer, Headline Diplomat, LUDCI.eu
Before the new president of the United States, Joe Biden displaced the incumbent to win the US 2020 Presidential Election, a host of big pharma had put upfront a donation of around $976,000, according to the data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. Few weeks into the election, big donors linked to drug companies were reported to have donated $2.5 million to Joe Biden’s campaign, while Trump’s campaign had got $647,000, according to OpenSecrets.org.
“Joe Biden has Big Pharma – as well as Big Tech and big banks — in his pocket because he’s worked for them for nearly 50 years, rather than the American people,” alleged Samantha Zager, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, as reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Many infightings occurred between the Department of Health and Human Services under Trump and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) over the latter’s independence on scientific decisions, as reported by the Politico.
With the warming up of the pharma organisations to Biden’s campaign, Trump, in his usual attack on administration scientists had alleged that the FDA was delaying the approval of COVID-19 vaccines from drug companies, which, obviously, could have given him an edge in the November 3, 2020 elections.
“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA,” Trump tweeted, tagging the FDA Commissioner, Stephen M. Hahn.
Although Trump’s allegation on the FDA delaying vaccine development was thrashed out as baseless by the media, it is no news that the pharma industry threw its full weight behind the Democrat’s election campaign.
And when the US presidential election was called into the favor of the Democrat’s candidate, the medical and pharmaceutical organizations were some of the first to congratulate Biden, offering advice to the new administration.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) CEO David J. Skorton, MD, had in a statement issued in November 2020, said the association was looking forward to working with the new administration and speeding the defeat of the pandemic.
“The AAMC looks forward to working with President-elect Biden, the new administration, and the new Congress to defeat the coronavirus pandemic, safely reopen businesses and schools, and stabilize the economy,” Skorton said.
Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association, also congratulated Biden, saying he looks forward to “make progress on the important issues facing the healthcare field, and the patients and communities we serve.”
“We both share the same top priority: fighting the battle against COVID-19. As we continue on the front lines in this fight, we will work as partners to protect our patients and communities, as well as support our brave healthcare workers,” Pollack said. “Our other priorities remain the same: advancing the transformation of healthcare, ensuring access to coverage, enhancing the quality of care, and making healthcare more affordable.”
To many Americans, Big Pharma had invested in Biden’s campaign and are now looking for a “return on investment” in the form of soliciting for vaccine approvals and mass vaccination of the public. A month after the US election in December 2020, the FDA would later approve the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. However, one last hurdle is the stance of “anti-vaxxers” who are resisting vaccination, citing several conspiracy theories.
However, several ignoble methods are being deployed by state governments, pharma companies, and other organizations on the frontline to make people comply with vaccination, restrictions, and strict COVID-19 policies, stripping citizens of their rights.
First, government and top health officials, including pharmaceutical companies are looking at the possibilities of making vaccinations mandatory. This agenda is increasingly being voiced by Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden and physician-scientist.
According to the immunologist, a vaccine passport may be required for Americans to be able to move or travel, hence, indirectly making vaccination mandatory for anyone who wants to travel. “Everything will be on the table for discussion,” Dr. Fauci told Newsweek in an interview, saying vaccines may be mandated for travels and for working in some institutions.
“I’m not sure it’s going to be mandatory from a central government standpoint, like federal government mandates. But there are going to be individual institutions that I’m sure are going to mandate it,” he said. “It’s not up to me to make a decision. But these are all things that will be discussed [under the Biden administration]. I would not be surprised, as we get into the full scope of [COVID-19] vaccination. Some companies, some hospitals, some organizations might require vaccination,” he concluded. Fauci also said vaccination might be a requirement in schools but they would come from mandates at the state or city level.
Greece’s “vaccination certificate”
New exceptions and conditions are being proposed by the Greece government to the European Union which could strip people of their freedom of movement. In January 2020, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, proposed that the Commission introduces a certificate of vaccination to enhance the freedom of movement of those who comply with vaccinations, according to KeepTalkingGreece.
Part of his letter to the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen reads: “It is urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all Member States.”
According to Mitsotakis, “ensuring the quickest possible re-establishment of freedom of movement is, of necessity, a fundamental priority for us all.” And while Greece is “not going to make vaccination compulsory or a prerequisite for travel, persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel.”
“This will also provide a positive incentive for ensuring that citizens are encouraged to undergo vaccination,” Mitsotakis added.
Urging vaccination amid skepticism
Meanwhile, for some countries, experts and citizens are skeptical about the safety and efficiency of the vaccines their governments are urging them to take.
Earlier in 2021, according to Bloomberg, the Chinese government donated 200,000 COVID-19 doses to Zimbabwe as the number of infections reaches 35,000 with over 1,300 deaths for a country of 14.65 million people.
However, while the government and health experts are urging people to take part in the free vaccinations, they are doubtful of the efficacy of the Sinopharm and Sputnik V vaccines, according to the VOA News.
“While even the efficacy [of the Sinopharm and Sputnik V vaccines] is not known,” it was important “for us to be at least vaccinating the population. The other concern around these two vaccines is obviously their effectiveness against the South African-originating variant,” Dr. Nyika Mahachi of the Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians
Among the vaccine skeptics in the southern African country is Mufaro Mutsigiri, 53. “We prefer to live the way we were living because, if I am vaccinated, does that stop the spread?” Mutsigiri asked. “Or will people die? Answers aren’t said out!” he told VOA.
As is the case with Dillion Machingura, the efficacy of the vaccines isn’t the reason for resisting vaccination, but their safety. “The thing is, there have been rumors about people who have been taking the vaccine … so I am not sure if it is safe to take it or not,” Machingura said.
Germany and the hiring of Koch
In the West, more sinister moves are being made by state governments to make people comply with COVID-19 regulations and vaccinations.
Die Welt, one of the largest newspapers in Germany has obtained evidence and reported how the country’s Ministry of Interior hired scientists from universities and the Robert Koch Institute to create a model that could justify its strict lockdown policies.
The evidence which is in a 200-page document reveals mail correspondence between researchers and the Interior Ministry and in exchange, Markus Kerbere, the state secretary, is allegedly asking researchers to make a model that can justify its “preventative and repressive measures.”
“According to the correspondence, the scientists worked in close coordination with the ministry in just four days to develop content for a paper that had been declared secret, which was distributed via various media over the following days,” Welt Reported. “A ‘worst-case scenario’ was calculated according to which more than a million people in Germany could die of the coronavirus if social life were to continue as it was before the pandemic.”
Conclusion:
Before the discovery of vaccines, many governments were alleged to have underreported the number of infections and deaths to cover up for their naivety in the handling of the pandemic and to prevent public and global backlash. However, as vaccines came, with anti-vaxxers spreading conspiracy theories, and as more people start refusing to get vaccinations, underreporting could no longer work as a dwindling number of cases could mean people would see vaccination as needless.
Countries like Belgium have been alleged to be overreporting COVID 19 numbers, according to the DW, perhaps to force compliance to regulations and the need for vaccination. Germany had to hire scientists to prove to citizens how hard the pandemic could hit the country without compliance. In Africa, citizens and experts are worried about the safety and efficacy of donated vaccines the governments are urging people to take. In the US, Greece, and the rest of the European Union, talks are ongoing about the impossibility of traveling without a “vaccine passport.”
Featured photo by Renda Eko Riyadi, Pexels
