Breaking: Trump is refusing to join Covax – the international cooperative effort to accelerate development & manufacture of #COVID19 vaccines

Explanation and analysis in https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/coronavirus-vaccine-trump/2020/09/01/b44b42be-e965-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html

A lot of the discussion of #COVAX is lost in the policy weeds. Here's what I think is important:

Vaccine development is risky. At the outset, you never know what will happen with a new vaccine candidate. It might work great, providing immunity to almost everyone who gets it

Or it might fail to provide any immunity - in other words, turn out to be worthless.

Or the new vaccine candidate may be worse than worthless – it could be dangerous, harming those who get it.

It's a gamble.

So 172 countries came together to join this #COVAX effort that's being led by @WHO, @gavi, and @CEPIvaccines -

saying, 'let's pool some of our resources to develop a whole bunch of vaccine candidates under the direction of some of the smartest, best scientists in the world.'

'and let's pull together funding from the wealthy countries to manufacture the vaccine candidate(s) that we prove actually work, and ensure we can distribute enough vaccine, as quickly as possible, to inoculate 20% of the population of countries that are participating'

Importantly, and this is key: #COVAX participating countries can still pursue vaccine development outside of #COVAX.

The US could participate in #COVAX and still pursue "Operation Warp Speed"

For the United States (viewed through the most...self-interested lens possible), #COVAX represents an insurance policy...

a hedge against our own risky bets in "Operation Warp Speed." Even if OWS doesn't work? We'd still have access to the vaccine(s) #COVAX develops.

We'd get enough vaccine from #COVAX for 20% of our population. That's enough vaccine to protect our healthcare workers, our elders, and those at highest risk from #COVID19.

Donald Trump just walked away from an insurance policy to save the lives of doctors, nurses, and seniors.

And, unsurprisingly, Trump walked away from an insurance policy to save the lives of some of the disabled Americans who are at highest risk of dying from #COVID19

Why? The ENTIRE #COVAX project is expected to cost LESS than $20B. (Our share would have been much less than that)

Trump needs to blame others for his own catastrophic failure to contain the #coronavirus, because the truth is a quarter of a million Americans are dead and almost none of them had to die.

He's picked China and @WHO as his scapegoats. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/05/us/coronavirus-death-toll-us.html

. @JoeBiden has committed to join international efforts to develop & manufacture #COVID19 treatments & vaccines and to join international efforts to prevent the next pandemic.

There are 63 days. Do everything you can to help elect @JoeBiden/ @KamalaHarris and a Democratic Senate.