the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Aug 30, 2021
Currently, less than 10% of South African people are fully vaccinated. The excuse given is lack of availability of vaccines.
At the same time, under a contract by Johnson & Johnson, a South African company, Aspen Pharmacare, receives active pharmaceutical ingredients of Covid vaccines from Europe, then bottles, packages, and ships the finished product, millions of doses, to Europe.
Johnson & Johnson has a contract with the South African government to deliver 2.8 million doses to South Africa by the end of June. But South Africa received only about 1.5 million of these doses. So, although South Africa paid for these vaccines and can manufacture vaccine doses, the government cannot put its hands on these vaccines. South Africa’s population is left insufficiently vaccinated since it has no power over Johnson & Johnson’s decisions on who will get the vaccines and when.
Under capitalism, the profit-driven interests of the companies like Johnson & Johnson have power over vital decisions. The needs of vast populations are left unaddressed.