Description

Russian Sputnik V, and Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines could be in Antigua and Barbuda in the near future, and you could be asked to line-up to get your jab. But the press around these vaccines has been bad, with a lot of the English language international news from North America and Europe reporting skepticism and a lack of transparency around them. On this episode we try to figure out how much of that is the normal politics of West vs. Russia or West vs. China, and whether the vaccines themselves are safe, effective, and a good option for Antigua and Barbuda. 

Since mid-February, we've been using the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine for our public immunization programme. So far over 20,000 people have been vaccinated, but the government has had to halt the programme due to a limited supply of AZ doses. Then the government said it was approving the importation of Russian and Chinese vaccines even before the Pharmacy Council has approved their use. The rationale is that if and when these vaccines are approved by the WHO or Western regulators, their price is likely to go up rapidly and their availability will likely diminish.

The host is Kieron Murdoch. The guests are:

1. Dr. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and director of the organization’s Global Health Policy Center. Dr. Morrison is a frequent commentator on US foreign policy, global health, Africa, and foreign assistance. He holds a Ph.D. in political science.
2. Ms. Nadya Wells, joins us from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is a senior research adviser at the institute’s Global Health Centre where she researches and teaches on the intersection of finance and biomedicine. She joins us to share insight into the Russian Sputnik vaccine.
3. Dr. Julian Tang, an Honorary Associate Professor and Clinical Virologist at the Respiratory Sciences Department, University of Leicester, Leicester. He joins us from the United Kingdom. He brings particular insights into the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.

This programme first aired on NewsCoObserver Radio 91.1 FMon March 14, 2021. Get the latest news from Antigua and Barbuda at theAntigua Observer online.