The Political Economy of Covid-19 Vaccines

 

The Political Economy of Covid-19 Vaccines

In order to analyze any challenge facing the society, it is not possible to deny the superiority of the political and economic aspects. Political discourse (political rhetoric) forms a frame of meaning and a social statement, this political discourse is actually born from the womb of capital. In order to turn any statement into reality, past events are resorted to. Over the past year, various statements have been made about the occurrence of Corona, weak statements have been defeated by powerful statements and powerful statements have taken the form of collective statements in society.

Although the Corona statement was made globally under the political discourse, the concepts of political economy cannot be ignored in the formulation of this statement. Less than one percent of the deaths caused by Corona include our friends and relatives, whose loss we share in their grief. On the other hand, more than 98% of healthy people indicate that the disease is not fatal. We need to understand the economic aspects of Corona in order to understand the exploitative tactics of the capitalist economy.

The wave of corona vaccines has strengthened the colonial line, as Western nations have secured funding through vaccine-sponsored governmentalism, but there are challenges to economic pressure on Third World countries. With more than three times the population receiving vaccines, according to UNICEF, more than a hundred countries have not been able to arrange a single dose of the vaccine until last month. And it has taken a dangerous form of instability.

The European Union has ordered 1.6 million doses, the United Kingdom 219 million doses, and Canada 188 million doses. Companies are now planning to make more profits by creating a shortage of vaccines. Vaccines can be manufactured worldwide, but patents owned by companies are restricting vaccine production. ۔ Oxford University initially promised to develop an open source vaccine that could be re-developed by any country, but the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a new form of global colonialism, forced Oxford University to partner with a pharmaceutical company. After the university surrendered property rights under a contract with Sweden's AstraZeneca, the distribution of vaccines and patent justification has once again increased its wealth to Europe and the United States through the exploitation of the Global South.

The first decade of the 21st century has been marked by the massacre of millions of Pakhtuns by the Afghan war. The recession devoured human lives, the third decade of this century has wreaked havoc on humans globally through Corona. Whether it is divine wrath or the handcuffs of capitalism, this secret will also be revealed. The Coronation Age of the third decade has put mankind to the test. Over the past century, the world of humanity has witnessed the imposition of colonial tactics on the supremacy of multinational corporations. Plans are created.

The Rockefeller Foundation's document, written ten years ago, argued for the Coronation Covenant to be protected from the loss of human lives. Was born inevitable. The global media controlled by multinational companies, and the national media controlled by local capitalists, have become the guardians of the interests of these companies. The guardianship is driven by billions of dollars in economic benefits.

The reality of the Corona epidemic is that multinational companies have been subjected to the protection of their interests from the nexus of states. Once completed, the fruits are now being reaped. The national media has played an effective role in bringing the state under the jaws of multinational companies. Diagnosis of corona virus has been linked to inevitable death and then vaccination plans have been strengthened to protect human life. In the capitalist economy, man is considered to be subject to capital and the military and civil bureaucracy in the triangle of the state is used as a powerful weapon.

The government of Pakistan signed a document to purchase corona vaccine from pharmaceutical companies from the state treasury and once again the national wealth was transferred to multinational companies, not only that but also to non-disclosure agreements with various multinational companies. Signed, under which the state of Pakistan will not be allowed to keep the vaccine purchase agreement secret and bring it to light and the state will abide by this agreement, the end of the corona epidemic will now be at the will of multinational companies. There will be no control and no interference.

The government of Pakistan initially allocated 15 150 million for the corona vaccine, which is being increased to 25 250 million, or Rs. 38.47 billion. The food has reached home and the government plans to vaccinate 100 million Pakistanis. Of course, vaccine purchase funds will be further increased. The Punjab government has allocated Rs 1.5 billion for the purchase of corona vaccine while the Sindh government is buying vaccines worth Rs 50 crore. The Sindh government has written an official letter to the private company AJM to provide 1 million doses of corona vaccine.

In addition to providing billions of rupees in benefits to multinational companies from the state coffers, they have also been allowed to collect money from private pockets. Former Sindh High Court Judge Allah Nawaz has written in his book that every illegal act in Pakistan is done under the law. Therefore, the government allowed the sale of private vaccines and knelt before the pharmaceutical companies while implementing the decision to fix the price of Russian-made Sputnik vaccine at Rs 8,000.

It is worth mentioning here that Ali Gohar Pharmaceutical Company (AGP), a Russian-made Sputnik vaccine in Pakistan, procured 50,000 doses in the first phase and sold them at a price of more than Rs 12,000. The vaccine was consumed within 15 days by private medical institutions, hospitals and labs.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AGP Company is Tariq Mohi-ud-Din who became the Financial Manager at the Jewish General Hospital of McGill University in 1987 and then became the Chief Financial Officer in 1993 in the case of a company owned by the Saudi royal family. ۔ Joined Arginen in 1999, which is now part of Merck & Co. Corporation of America, and in 2006 Arginen became MD of Pakistan. Tariq Mohi-ud-Din Khan also holds the post of Honorary Consul General of the Netherlands in Karachi. AGP started its operations in Pakistan as a pharmaceutical company in 1989 and registered with the Pakistan Stock Exchange in 2018, a year before the corona virus. The company, which bought the corona vaccine worth crores of rupees, paid only Rs 300,000. He paid Rs. 39,000 in taxes.

The AGP entered into an agreement with M مولller & Phillips, a company operating in Pakistan, to sell the corona vaccine. Mرller & Phillips has the largest pharmaceutical network in Pakistan, has 65 branches in Pakistan and access to 46,000 pharmacies, most of which are owned by democratic representatives sitting in houses. Now in the company, which other influential people in Pakistan have invested in corona vaccine, the state should investigate.

Private sale of corona vaccine in Pakistan was restricted to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. The government's agreement with multinational companies to repatriate citizens allowed companies to increase the cost of landing imported vaccines by up to 40 percent and cost hospitals or labs a further 15 percent. The government itself approved the increase of 55% in the overall price.

The vaccine business is affiliated with international organizations. Kovacs has been selected to procure and supply vaccines globally. It is a global organization based in Geneva. Kovacs vaccines are being delivered to various countries through Kovacs. The vaccine is being developed with the financial support of UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO). UNICEF is spending 2.5 billion on the vaccine. Pakistan had signed an agreement for this vaccine in June 2020 under which 17 million doses of corona vaccine would be provided to Pakistan. A few days ago, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that the vaccine would arrive from Germany under the vaccine. Is.

Multinational companies have used state funds in this global vaccine business. The US Centers for Disease Control has allocated 3 3 billion for the corona vaccine, which has been paid to pharmaceutical companies to develop the vaccine. According to a BBC report, governments have allocated 6.5 billion British pounds for the purchase of the corona vaccine, while private companies have given 1.5 billion pounds to companies.

According to the December 2020 report, Pfizer is valued at 2.25 billion, AstraZeneca at 8.19 billion, Madrina at 1.9 billion, Novavix at 79 1.79 billion, Synovix at 62 1.62 billion, Johnson & Johnson. 786 million pounds, Cureweek 1.25 billion pounds, GSK 572 million pounds, Translate Bio 300 million pounds have been paid for the corona vaccine.

Globally, arms companies and pharmaceutical companies are powerful entities, controlling the economies of states through which financial institutions work with subsidiaries.

In the Corona era, economic oppression and state exploitation of the common man have added to the complexities of life. The practical conceptions of capitalism and structuralism have once again exposed their exploitative and hostage plans. Economically weaker countries are being burdened with more debt due to the pressure to buy vaccines, a new colonial tactic to trap them in endless debt. Today we have to think about how the subjugation of personal freedoms to the capitalist economy, in the end, leads to economic looting and we become the helpers of these projects, knowingly or unknowingly. The world is now in danger of dividing countries on the basis of vaccines and non-vaccines under the new concepts of subjugated, colonized and colonized. The new tactics of the colonial powers could be thwarted.