Argentina is managing so that part of the doses that the United States will give to the country

Joe Biden has opened the door and Argentina are already looking for a huge opportunity to get what they need most right now: vaccines. With this urgent goal, our country is making a big effort in Washington these days to demand as many doses as possible.

The President of the United States announced on Monday that he plans to send 20 million coronavirus vaccines abroad to cover part of the international demand and said that for the first time will give doses of the three brands approved in the United States: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

So far, the United States government has shipped approximately 4 million doses of AstraZeneca to Mexico and Canada, which are not yet approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He also announced on March 26 the global donation of 60 million of this brand, but when he gets the green light from the FDA, which remains uncertain.

The additional 20 million announced by Biden Monday they would be available at the end of Junethe president said, and explained that he would use help from Covax (a delivery mechanism that is governed by the World Health Organization and other health organizations) to ensure that the vaccines go to is “fair”.

Biden did not say whether he will give the vaccines to Covax or whether he will donate them directly to certain countries with the advice of that entity. This is why, according to Clarín, the Argentine ambassador in Washington Jorge Argüello started negotiations this week at the White House, the State Department and with various labs with the specific objective of convincing the US government that Argentina should receive as many of these vaccines as possible.

The ambassador will be meeting these days with Gayle Smith, the State Department’s Global Covid Response Coordinator, an official who has a desk full of dose requests from around the world. Argüello also supported the White House’s efforts and consulted with vaccine and laboratory experts.

Biden wants to place US as benchmark in vaccine distribution, a space that was occupied by Beijing and Moscow. “There is a lot of talk about the influence of China and Russia with vaccines. We want to lead the world with our values, ”said the head of the White House on Monday. And he clarified that “he will not ask for favors” in exchange for the doses.

Argentina is at a critical juncture, with more than 70,000 deaths and a spike in cases accelerated by new, more contagious strains. And the vaccination process is progressing slowly, with difficulty getting the product from different brands and parts of the world.

Our country has already bought more than 12 million doses, most of the Russian Sputnik V (much more of the first component than the second), followed by Chinese Sinopharm, then Covishield / AstraZeneca. He received one million from AstraZeneca via Covax.

The government, which abandoned the possibility of a contract with Pfizer at the start of the pandemic, has not stopped after asking U.S. officials at all levels for vaccines. President Alberto Fernández spoke to the Director for the Western Hemisphere of the National Security Council, Juan González, during his visit to Argentina last month, and it was also a topic of conversation with the special envoy of Climate Biden John Kerry at a recent meeting in Rome.

Vaccine experts familiar with the negotiations told Clarín that while one of the US priorities is to stop the outbreak in India, Argentina should have no problem receiving at least part of the doses, given that it is one of the most infected countries in the region. They stress that our country should also convince American officials that the situation in Argentina could complicate the United States and the world.

They point out that in Argentina today the growth of cases is exponential and is linked to Brazil, which has more contagious strains. In addition, thousands of Argentines come to Miami and can introduce the new variants. They must convince Americans that it is important to help Argentina on a global scale, they stress.

But they also highlight a fact that could generate a setback: Although Pfizer has obtained ANMAT approval in Argentina, neither Moderna nor Johnson & Johnson have yet that green light, a situation which – if it is. maintained – could make it difficult to ship these marks. They also stress that the order for doses of AstraZeneca, which is already approved in our country and which is stored without destination in the United States, should not be abandoned.

The massive use of vaccines in the United States (Pfizer and Moderna are the most widely used) has dramatically reduced the number of deaths and infections across the country. They have even proven to be very effective in the fight against Covid 19 and its new variants in Brazil and India, as reported yesterday by Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the best local experts.

Until now Biden’s priority was to collect vaccines to immunize Americans and it enabled 60% of the population to receive at least one dose. Boys between the ages of 12 and 15 are already vaccinated, while those who have been fully vaccinated today can move around without a mask and without social distancing.

The United States has purchased enough doses of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson to inoculate 150 million more than the entire American population (320 million). The government has also already purchased 110 million doses of Novavax, which should be authorized soon. And it also has 300 million doses of AstraZeneca in stock (enough to vaccinate 150 million people) that have yet to be approved.

In this context, the pressures on Biden are very strong: from all over the planet, and even within his own Democratic Party, they are asking him to release the hundreds of millions of vaccines he does not use to help countries. where the situation is dramatic. . Biden has already taken a step and Argentina are looking to enjoy the game.

PDL