Millions of people around the world have been thrown into poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, yet big pharmaceutical companies have reported record levels of profit. Thanks to sales of the Comirnaty vaccine, in 2021 Pfizer has secured a 134% rise in revenue compared to the previous year. The company is now looking to exploit the pandemic even more by introducing its Paxlovid drug to high-income countries, while leaving it out of reach of poor countries.
A different path is pursued by Cuba. The island has recently pledged to offer additional support for vaccine distribution in the Global South though deploying more health cadres, donating more homegrown vaccine doses, and ensuring technology transfers to other countries.
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