The campaign to beat the pandemic

Our view on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

All the talk in the media is of “light at the end of the tunnel” following the news about the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.  While this development is indeed good news, we certainly aren’t at the end of the tunnel yet.

Will the vaccine be affordable?

As Oxfam said, the vaccine will be “zero per cent effective to the people who can’t access or afford it”, and the companies have not agreed to make the vaccine available on a not-for-profit basis. 

Scientists have been cautious about the news, citing the relatively small test sample. GPs have similarly raised concerns about storage and processing. Even without these factors, getting into mass production won’t happen overnight. That’s why it’s vital we maintain our fight for a Zero Covid Strategy which could eliminate the virus in weeks.

The cost of doing nothing whilst we wait for the vaccine

If and when a vaccine does become widely available, those countries that followed a Zero Covid Strategy will have suffered far fewer deaths and long-term health conditions than those that didn’t, as well as being freed from restrictions much sooner. It is important therefore that we continue to campaign for a rational public health approach to the pandemic. And given the fact that we are now having to swim even harder against the stream of the media narrative, it is more important than ever that we take our message to the streets.

We still need a Day of Action, and perhaps more than one

So please continue to make arrangements with others in your area to get as many people as possible to the online rally at 11am this Saturday, 14 November, and safely onto the streets at 2pm. And of course, keep building the campaign and spreading our message.

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