Global Observation丨On the one hand is the outbreak of the epidemic, on the other hand, some people in the United States have become “upstarts” due to the epidemic
Recently, the US “Forbes” magazine released this year’s list of the 400 richest Americans. Among the 44 new billionaires on the list, the chairman, co-founder, and early investors of Modena, one of the three major new crown vaccine suppliers in the United States, are on the list for the first time.
According to the “Washington Post” report, with the spread of the new crown virus, Modena’s stock price soared last year. Forbes magazine estimated that the wealth of Modena’s chairman Afyan was close to $5 billion, and co-founder Lan Grid’s net worth is 4.9 billion US dollars, and the early investor Springer’s wealth is 5.9 billion US dollars.
△ “Washington Post” report screenshot.
According to the “Lingwood Times” report, the surge in vaccine company stock prices has brought about the birth of 9 new billionaires, 5 of whom are related to Modena. According to the “People’s Vaccine Alliance” data, the total worth of the nine billionaires on the list is $19.3 billion, which is enough to purchase vaccines for about 780 million people in low-income countries.
△ “Lingwood Times” report screenshot.
Although there is government funding, “we will not sell vaccines at cost”
The huge contrast between this result and the serious unfair distribution of global vaccines is shocking.
The WHO previously set a phased goal for new crown vaccination. The first phase of the goal is to hope that countries and regions can vaccinate 10% of their population by the end of September this year, but there are still 56 countries and regions that have not been able to complete it. For this target, most of these countries are located in Africa and Asia.
But so far, the United States, which is the most powerful in the field of vaccines, has been criticized for too little and too late. In addition to the Biden administration’s talk of doing more and less, US pharmaceutical companies have also been criticized for their profiteering and unkindness. All parties believe that the inaction of the US government is tantamount to collusion with drug manufacturers. The spearhead first pointed to Modena, which developed a vaccine through “crowdfunding” but did not want to share it.
ABC’s WJLA TV station pointed out that Modena’s mRNA vaccine is considered by experts to be the most suitable vaccine for global distribution. More importantly, Modena has also received more than $1 billion in taxpayer funding for the production of vaccines under Operation Warp Speed. Its cooperation with the National Institutes of Health has also enabled it to obtain government funding. One billion-dollar “mRNA technology” research results, but Modena has repeatedly refused to share its technology.
△ Screenshot of WJLA TV station, a subsidiary of ABC. The report also pointed out that Modena also rejected the proposal to obtain a pool-licensed vaccine through WHO’s new coronary pneumonia technology.
WJLA TV reported that if Biden can take action after receiving more than $16 billion from Congress in March this year to expand vaccine supply, the United States may already have the capacity to produce 8 billion doses of Modena vaccine, enough for more than half of the world. People get vaccinated.
An analysis report of the “People’s Vaccine Alliance” stated that Modena and Pfizer in the United States were the biggest beneficiaries. The two vaccine companies charged the government $41 billion higher than the estimated production cost, at least the actual cost. 5 times.
△The official website of Oxfam, an anti-poverty non-profit organization, quoted a screenshot of the analysis report of the People’s Vaccine Alliance.
Modena expanded rapidly in the epidemic like a sponge that absorbs water. Since February 2020, the company’s share price has risen by 700%. In the first six months of this year, total revenue was US$6.3 billion and net profit was US$4 billion. The number of employees increased from 930 in June last year to approximately 1,800, an increase close to that Doubled.
△Picture from Google Finance
According to the “Lingwood Times” report, the United States provided these pharmaceutical companies with $2 billion for research on the new coronary pneumonia vaccine. But in a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the summer of 2020, when vaccine manufacturers were asked whether they would sell their products at cost, Modena’s president Stephen Hogg told lawmakers that despite the company’s acquisition of about 10 100 million US dollars in government funding, but they will not sell vaccines at cost.
The Linwood Times cited data from the People’s Vaccine Alliance as saying that while blocking the technology, Pfizer and Modena have sold more than 90% of the vaccines to rich countries, and the total number of vaccines purchased by rich countries has reached its population. More than three times the required.
△ “Lingwood Times” report screenshot
The Associated Press reported citing the views of the “Health Partners” and Dr. Joya Mukherjee of Harvard Medical School, “In fact, the current shortage of new crown pneumonia vaccines is a deliberate policy choice made by pharmaceutical companies and the Biden administration, not because of The expansion of production capacity is subject to certain inherent scientific or engineering constraints.” Fatima Hassan, founder of South Africa’s Health Justice Initiative, said: “During the pandemic, putting public health before profit is more important than ever. Modena failed to do this. “
△ Screenshot of Associated Press website report
“Billionaires are driving in space, but millions of people on Earth are starving.”
In the context of the new crown pandemic, it is not only Modena’s executives who enjoy the skyrocketing wealth.
According to the ILO report, due to the new crown epidemic, at least 225 million full-time jobs worldwide disappeared last year, more than four times the loss of the 2009 global financial crisis.
△Screenshot of ILO report
But the super-rich have seen their wealth soar. The Washington Post quoted another report issued by the anti-poverty non-profit organization Oxfam that since the beginning of the new crown epidemic, the wealth of the world‘s 10 richest people has increased by more than 500 billion US dollars. , The money is enough to vaccinate everyone in the world. According to a report by the Washington Post, the relevant survey results believe that increased inequality is one of the main results of the pandemic.
△ “Washington Post” report screenshot.
When “Forbes” magazine released the latest list of the 400 richest Americans on October 6, it also pointed out that the total wealth of the 400 richest Americans this year is 40% more than that of the super-rich last year, and this is since 2007. The list with the most newcomers on the list.
Although the new crown pneumonia epidemic is an economic disaster for most parts of the United States, the rich have lived quite well. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has been at the top of the list for four consecutive years, just spent a lot of money on a spacecraft to travel in space in July this year. In September, the spacecraft “Inspiration 4” of the space exploration technology company owned by Elon Musk, ranked second on the rich list, also carried out its first fully commercial flight around the earth.
In response, UN Secretary-General Guterres warned in his opening speech at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly that the world is facing a series of “major crises”. The new crown epidemic has exacerbated inequality. At the same time, another “disease” “It is spreading in the world: a disease of distrust. When people see that the hope of moving forward is taken away by the hard daily life, when they see that their basic rights and freedoms are restricted, when they see billionaires traveling in space, and millions of people on earth are starving. At times, we must be alert to this kind of division.
△ “Washington Observer” report screenshot. Guterres said: “We are on the edge of the abyss, and are heading in the wrong direction. Our world has never been more threatened or more divided.”
Ironically, according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 8, the top 1% of the richest U.S. taxpayers by income failed to pay approximately $163 billion in taxes in 2020, accounting for approximately 28% of the total unpaid taxes. . The top 5% of U.S. taxpayers in income will evade about US$307 billion in 2020, accounting for 53% of the total amount.
As Rebecca Golan, head of inequality at Oxfam, said: “It is clear that a fair tax on the richest people will have a significant effect. In this case, let the poorest people continue to pay for the crisis. , Is morally disgusting.”
Planning|Wang Jian
Author|Li Yan
Edit|Zhang Han
Audit | Zhang Zhe
Producer|Kuan Juanjuan