疫情肆虐下的“正能量” 中国正式加入“新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划”_风闻
钢铁沧澜-2020-10-28 11:51
作者：兰顺正首发自：中国日报
目前为止，新冠病毒仍然在全球范围内蔓延，导致无数人深受其害，而且此次新冠肺炎疫情虽然是一场公共卫生危机，但其造成的冲击并不局限在公共卫生领域，其外溢效应也导致社会经济、国家治理和国际秩序等方面受到很大的影响。面对新冠这样的全球性危机，采取广泛的国际合作自然势在必行，但在实际操作中发达国家内部存在的逆全球化思潮却让全球层次的国际合作收效甚微。
其实自2016 年以来，以英国“脱欧”公投通过和美国特朗普政府频繁“退群”为标志，多边主义就开始遭遇一系列冲击，而新冠病毒的传播让形势变得更为糟糕。为防控疫情蔓延，许多国家采取了边境管控措施，影响了全球贸易、投资和产业链布局，也使得经济全球化面临新一轮保护主义和经济民族主义带来的压力。同时对于一些内部反全球化声音高涨的发达国家而言，此次疫情成为其抵制全球化进程的绝佳借口。以上情况导致在国际公共卫生领域的深度合作遭遇困境，在此次危机中某些国家甚至不断出现“甩锅”、推责、不作为等行为。无疑，在疫情面前如果每个国家都“自扫门前雪”，那么国力较弱的发展中国家受到的伤害肯定更大。一些亚非拉发展中国家和最不发达地区的民众目前连食物和水资源都无法得到保障，更遑论有能力妥善应对疫情。而广大发展中国家如果不能得到帮助，恐将引发巨大的人道主义危机和政治、社会危机，进一步加剧恶性循环。
现在各国正在努力研制新冠疫苗，作为人人欲得的“解药”，如果不提前设立好科学合理的分配机制，那么一旦疫苗问世，随之而来的全球抢药大战可能导致疫苗价格呈指数级飙升，少数财力雄厚的国家可能会获得大部分疫苗供应（多个发达经济体已经通过与疫苗研发企业签订预先订购合同的途径，为满足本国的疫苗使用需求做准备。据称，美国、英国、欧盟和日本已经锁定了13亿支潜在新冠疫苗的使用权），这也可能导致新冠疫情长期肆虐。
为此，世界卫生组织主导了“全球冠病疫苗获取机制”(简称COVAX)，确保新冠疫苗能在全球公平分配。有报道指出，COVAX计划包括联合采购和分担多种新冠疫苗风险的机制，无论哪种疫苗将来被证明安全有效，参与其中的国家都能够及时获得这些疫苗，不论是中低收入国家还是高收入国家。COVAX机制的目标是最迟于2021年底，在全球提供20亿剂安全有效的冠病疫苗。
而中国加入COVAX计划则可谓顺理成章。自疫情发生以来，中国就在构建人类卫生健康共同体上不遗余力地贡献力量，积极支持世界卫生组织“全球疫苗免疫联盟”等国际机构发挥作用。同时中国在新冠疫苗研发邻域也取得了不小的成果，据世卫组织报告，目前全世界共有9例疫苗进入最后临床Ⅲ期试验阶段，其中中国疫苗占4例。面对即将出炉的“解药”，中国没有独善其身，习近平主席在今年5月世界卫生大会开幕式上表示，中国新冠疫苗将作为全球公共产品向世界提供，使中国成为首个向世界做出如此郑重承诺的国家（而与中国相比，据德国和法国媒体的曝料，美国政府试图重金利诱他国企业交出疫苗研发成果和优先预购权。对此德国媒体痛批道，美国的计划向全世界展示了华盛顿的丑恶嘴脸）。COVAX计划是一种多边主义安排，被其推出者称为“自巴黎气候协定以来最具雄心的国际合作”，有助于集合全球之力尽早结束新冠大流行，到今年9月末已有172个国家和地区表示加入该计划。此次中国加入COVAX计划充分体现了对人类健康负责的大国担当，正如外交部发言人华春莹在回答相关提问时所言，这是中国秉持人类卫生健康共同体理念、履行自身承诺推动疫苗成为全球公共产品的一个重要举措。另外，在逆全球化被大肆鼓吹之时，中国的行为也进一步彰显了对于国际合作和多边主义的支持，为全球共抗疫情以及疫情后的重振打了一针“强心剂”。
（以下为英文原文）
China’s efforts to make sure all countries get access to vaccinesBy Lan Shunzheng | China DailyUpdated: Oct 26, 2020
The COVID-19 vaccine race, including producing and buying vaccines, has intensified, making it increasingly important for the international community to make sure all countries have fair and equitable access to the vaccines once governments approve them for public use. China has signed an agreement with Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, officially joining COVAX, an international initiative for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, and thus injected positive energy into global governance and strengthened multilateralism.
The novel coronavirus pandemic is still raging in many parts of the world. Worse, the pandemic has had spillover effects, leading to social unrest and governance crisis in some countries, and global recession, creating new challenges for the international community.
International cooperation is the only way to deal with the global health crisis. Yet global coordination has been impeded by the tide of anti-globalization, and the emergence of unilateralism and protectionism in some countries.
Brexit and the United States’ withdrawal from international organizations and global and regional agreements have had a huge impact on multilateralism. While border control measures and protectionism have made global trade and investment difficult, and disrupted industrial and supply chains, some countries have resorted to unilateralism and protectionism, and thus fanning anti-globalization sentiments.
All this has created obstacles for global cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. For instance, the US has failed to properly respond to the pandemic challenge, and to cover its failure, it has been blaming other countries, especially China, and the World Health Organization, for all its ills.
If developed countries become self-centered and selfish, the pandemic will extract a high cost on less-and least-developed countries, not least because they have comparatively weak medical care systems. Without global coordination and cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, a vicious circle would be created leading to a deeper humanitarian crisis.
The world is working around the clock to develop COVID-19 vaccines. But since developed economies, including the European Union, have signed purchase agreements in advance to ensure vaccine supplies, the world needs an equitable distribution mechanism so that vaccine prices are not too high for less-and least-developed to afford. If the prices are very high, most of the vaccines will be concentrated in the hands of a few rich countries.
It is precisely for this reason that 172 countries and regions, and international organizations such as the WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance promoted the COVAX initiative, which includes joint procurement and risk decentralization of different COVID-19 vaccines. The COVAX mechanism aims to provide at least 2 billion safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021, and countries that participate in COVAX will get timely access to the vaccines that are approved as safe and effective.
China has been committed to building a global community of health for all since the pandemic broke out and has actively supported international organizations including the WHO and GAVI. It is also contributing to four of the nine candidate vaccines that have entered phase-III clinical trials across the world. China was also the first country to say that its vaccines will be made global public goods, as President Xi Jinping declared while addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly on May 18.
The COVAX initiative is an ambitious multilateral arrangement to help the world defeat the novel coronavirus. For years now, China has been shouldering its international responsibilities as a major country, and has taken an important step to help build a global community of health for all by declaring that its vaccines will be treated as global public goods. And it is driving international cooperation and multilateralism at a time when the world needs more joint actions, not divisive talks and belligerent rhetoric, to contain the pandemic and boost post-pandemic global recovery.
The author is a research fellow at the Charhar Institute and a member of the Chinese Institute of Command and Control. The views don’t necessarily represent those of China Daily.