Santo Domingo, DR
The Dominican Republic is not one of the 75 countries that need to join forces to obtain some of the 2.2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine that AstraZeneca-Oxford is developing, said Hugo Guiliani Cury, the Dominican Republic’s ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In an interview for the Listin Diario, Ambassador Guiliani Cury gave extensive details of the vaccine development process and the countries that were initially beneficiaries.
I know why we need to realize that the pandemic we are facing is a crisis of unsuspected magnitude.
While in London, January 2020, we learn what happened in China and other countries in Asia. The subject attracted me and I began to read and attend meetings on this subject. I gradually formed a clear idea and continued to document the policies implemented by China, South Korea, and Singapore. Those were the successful countries. I wrote some articles for our press and recommended that we follow the example of those nations.
It is transparent that foreign cooperation is needed to combat this pandemic. I made attempts and sought a proposal to submit it to the UN Security Council. But the differences in the Council between China and the United States would save him any initiative. The same has happened in other scenarios due to differences between the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO). International and bilateral aid to the world has never emerged and everyone will have to do so on their own.
Our counterattack with limited human and monetary resources has pursued policies to fight COVID-19. I think we did the right thing. Our doctors, in terms of the remedy phase, have been very effective and an opposite success to the thousands of deaths that have occurred daily in rich countries and complex medicine. This happened because some of our most productive doctors made the decision to withdraw medication. They have been successful and that’s why we have a low case rate. Just as I say where we’ve been very good, I’ll have to say where we failed.
I expect a state of emergency to be declared as of March 1. In addition, more tests were carried out, with less bureaucracy, more concentration and greater follow-up. I wasn’t, and I’m not in favor of opening day and end at night. COVID-19 is contagious 24 hours a day. I have also infrequently felt a lack of authority and a lack of cooperation on the part of my fellow citizens. But I’ve been aware that the government is doing everything it can. I know very well that one thing is to play the guitar and another with the violin. I can therefore believe the difficulties the High-Level Commission has had in the implementation and operation of the measures it has taken.
This is the dilemma, open or closed. Sometimes, when you can’t find a solution to a problem, you want to take a break and help yourself with the reports and wisdom of others. I did and in recent weeks I discovered articles by the well-known publisher Yuval Harari, from the e-book “Sapiens”. His essay was as refreshing for me as one of the baths I take at Villa Miriam, in the waters of the San Rafael River.
Harari addressed critical questions about the rapid long term of our world, adding biometric surveillance and intimacy. But the challenge we’re involved in now is how to defeat this virus.
Harari says there are only two tactics to do this. One is a complete closure where the government will have to exercise its full authority and punish those who do not comply. It is a modality where authoritative surveillance is implemented with the empowerment of citizens. It is a closure of the economy where a strong hand and field are applied. According to Harari, the first thing is health, the economic recovery is done once the pandemic is under control. The current solution that Harari proposes is the percentage of all data with the rest of the world and pay to download effective foreign cooperation.
The first solution that Harari recommends is not imaginable given the lack of field we have and the type of nutrition we have. And neither is the suggestion of the moment. In this crisis, the absence of paintings from foreign networks has been absolute. The United Nations Security Council has done nothing and has been paralyzed by the US-China confrontation. The World Health Organization, which was intended to be at the forefront of such a crisis, has lost America’s help and resources and has done nothing. The G’s, whether it was 7 or 20, did not paint and President Trump declared them obsolete. In other words, post-pandemic multilateralism has entered crisis. The global wants a new vision and greater settlements globally, but that will not take place in the short term either.
At the end of the day, the only solution to this pandemic is to locate a vaccine. It turns out that the world’s leading science centers are about to market a vaccine. Currently, a dozen laboratories are about to achieve this goal. It is estimated that 3 of them will do so before the end of the year. These are CanSino Biologics in China, AstraZeneca – University of Oxford in the UK and Pfizer Pharma in Germany.
AstraZeneca, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is the one that paves the way. That is why the Ambassadors’ Organization for Latin America in the United Kingdom has been active on this issue. Our organization has made vital contacts with the University of Oxford, where data have been received that can help our countries. We were informed that the Oxford University vaccine will be sold at cost. This was our decision for each vaccine at around $3.25.
At AstraZeneca – Oxford, the vaccine can be released in September this year. At this stage, they will produce about 2.2 billion doses. This amount is already committed as follows:
– one hundred million doses for the UK
– one hundred million doses for Brazil
– three hundred million doses for the United States
– millions of doses for the European Community
– 1 billion doses for India
– three hundred million doses of Covax – Gabi
The sum of these elements corresponds to the general production that AstraZeneca – Oxford will have in this first phase. This means that our countries will only have access to this vaccine in a small proportion. The three hundred million doses attributed to Covax – Gabi will be distributed worldwide. To date, some 75 countries have expressed interest in joining the Covax-Gabi vaccine alliance facilities. The Dominican Republic is not included in the list of 75 countries that have made commitments.
The government of the country and the physical state must make decisions on this issue. So that this does not happen as in the case of reagents, whose acquisition has been complicated for the physical fitness government.
The letter had a smart effect on the country and outside the country. A few days ago, I had a video convention with two of the editors of British Vogue magazine in London. It was a constructive verbal exchange where we clarified the positions. I think the positive things will break this deadlock and, as with Vogue, the country has won an influential friend.
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