On This Memorial Day weekend ...
We should remember how lucky we are, and what the rest of the world needs
Like many of you, I will spend this holiday weekend with family and friends — a welcome change made possible by the fact all of us are vaccinated against COVID-19. But, as two commentaries today in the New York Times and JAMA note, the rest of the world is not so fortunate.
They both point out the need to transfer the vaccine’s technology to generic manufacturers in the developing world. The global drug industry — including firms in China and Russia — needs to ramp up production rapidly to prevent the pandemic’s continued spread as well as prevent the spread of resistant variants. I’m proud to say I shared similar sentiments with my readers — you — in this GoozNews article over a week ago.
The JAMA article is by Dr. Peter Hotez at the Baylor College of Medicine, a physician, researcher and teacher I first met 14 years ago while doing a story about the hookworm vaccine he was developing. That story took me deep into the jungles of Brazil where the initial clinical trials were just getting underway.
I have been very fortunate over the course of my 40-plus-year career in journalism to meet numerous people like Dr. Hotez, whose humanitarian heart is so large even a Nobel Prize wouldn’t cover it. One of my mission’s in semi-retirement is to continue publishing a weekly (or more) GoozNews column that highlights the work of progressive health care leaders like him.
I relaunched GoozNews six months ago with a plea for paid subscriptions. Consider this my semi-annual pitch for new subscribers for the low low price of $5 a month or $30 a year. Consider it your way of showing support for my continuing this mission.
Happy Memorial Day!
