In planning for global vaccine distribution, the Trump administration created a secret list prioritizing friends like Israel and Taiwan over low- and moderate-income countries
A Biden official said allocations are “determined based upon well-defined and articulated principals: no strings attached, free, as well as a country’s vaccination coverage and access to vaccines.” | Win McNamee/Getty Images, according to interviews with five current and former officials who described the document to POLITICO.
“We thought that the categories themselves made sense at the time,” said Paul Mango, the former deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Health and Human Services. “The underserved countries were third on the list.” Mango was not directly involved in the formulation of the list but was in charge of briefing White House officials on its contents.
Yet it is those countries that many public health experts have said are most important to inoculate as a way of preventing new variants from emerging. The Trump plan never went into play because the administration changed hands before the vaccine came fully online. In a statement to POLITICO, a Biden official said the administration “does not use the previous administration’s policy or the cited list to make vaccine sharing decisions.”
The fact that the document exists within the National Security Council raises questions about the degree to which the White House is involved in making decisions about where to send doses. White House officials have previously told POLITICO that the National Security Council merely acts as an interagency coordinator. Other top health and diplomatic officials have said the White House is in charge of making decisions on donations.
The entire discussion around how U.S. officials make decisions about helping the rest of the world fight Covid-19 remains opaque. Any insight into that planning — including the release of the annex — could potentially help the world understand why many countries still don’t have significant access to the vaccine.
“There was a meeting where [then-HHS Secretary Alex] Azar said ‘My guess is everyone in the world is going to be wanting the vaccine. We need to have a plan,’” Mango said.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
NSO chairman steps down after domestic spying allegations in IsraelIsraeli news reported that NSO spyware was used to monitor anti-government protesters.
Baca lebih lajut »
As World Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, Some Survivors in Israel StruggleAmong Israel's estimated 165,000 Holocaust survivors, roughly one in three lives in poverty, according to a survivors' advocacy group. Though survivors receive government stipends, many still depend on food donations organized by Israeli charities.
Baca lebih lajut »
Vaccination with BNT162b2 reduces transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to household contacts in Israel
Baca lebih lajut »
Here's the growing list of Trump-endorsed 2022 candidatesAs Trump teases a 2024 run for the White House, in the meantime he's issued dozens of endorsements in federal races ahead of November's midterm elections.
Baca lebih lajut »
Interior Department cancels 2 Minnesota mining leases renewed under TrumpThe Interior Department has canceled two Minnesota mining leases after a legal opinion ruled the leases were “improperly renewed” by the Trump administration.
Baca lebih lajut »
Trump declares himself the ‘47th’ president while playing golfThe former president made the remarks while playing a round of golf at one of his clubs, according to a video being shared widely on social media on Wednesday.
Baca lebih lajut »