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All over the world, we are currently experiencing history. From the recent Inauguration of President Biden to the pandemic, we are all living through monumental moments in our lives. Moments that are frightening, exciting and bittersweet rolled into one. With the hope of the new year and the fast distribution of the vaccine, we were ready to take on the virus. But it turns out there could be something stopping all of us from getting the vaccine.
In 2020, under the Trump Administration, Operation Warp Speed and the Maryland-based manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions made a deal to mass produce the vaccine and send it out to the American people fast. Something that was hidden in this contract between the two was a clause that stated Emergent can keep a reasonable number of vaccines to give out to their employees and their families.
At first thought, it could be the kind thing to do, right? Give the vaccine to those who are mass producing it. But ethically…it doesn’t seem all that right. When the CDC made the guidelines to who gets the vaccine when, they did so with the country in mind. They made sure that no one who doesn’t need the vaccine right away can get it. I mean, it doesn’t really make much sense for a healthy 18-year-old to get a vaccine when we have millions of frontline workers who come in contact with the virus every day.
However, Emergent has that opportunity to jump the line and skip millions of people. Although the company and the government agree that would never happen, the very fact that there is a specific clause set aside for the company to take advantage of is frightening. At any moment, they could take a large portion of vaccines and give it out to people who are not in urgent need of it.
Are you okay with that? Let us know in the comments below.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
