US accusing China of "vaccine diplomacy" reveals dark mentality, cold-blooded nature

Vaccination is regarded as the most effective method of battling the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the international community’s fight against the virus, China joined the COVAX facility backed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

China has provided, and continues to provide COVID-19 vaccine aid free of charge to 69 developing countries in urgent need of it, while at the same time exporting vaccines to 43 countries. It is a firm believer in making COVID-19 vaccines a public good, a committed front-runner in promoting international vaccine cooperation, and a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution.

Workers unload vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac on its arrival in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 16, 2021. Uruguay on Tuesday received a new batch of CoronaVac vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac to bolster its immunization drive against COVID-19. (Xinhua/Nicolas Celaya)

While China and the rest of the world are working together to defeat the outbreak, the U.S. is jealous of China’s efforts to address disparities in vaccine distribution. “We are concerned about the use — or the attempted use of vaccines as a means of diplomacy by Russia and China,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki at a press briefing on March 5.

The fact is, many countries have asked the U.S. government to share its vaccine doses, but it hasn’t provided vaccines to any country. Jen Psaki explained that the country’s priority is ensuring every American is vaccinated and that there is a distribution process after that. The explanation reveals the cold-blooded attitude towards a world community forged by a common destiny.

The U.S. also interprets China's goodwill in a distorted and even sinister way. The U.S. and some Western countries invented and spread the idea of so-called "vaccine diplomacy", just as Aesop's fox claims that the grapes beyond its reach are sour. The idea is also aimed at distracting people from its short-sighted selfish practices.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. will have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May and enough for 400 million people by the end of July. U.S. President Joe Biden recently announced plans to purchase an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to respond to "unexpected challenges."

However, globally, 2.5 billion people in almost 130 countries have yet to be given a single dose, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Feb. 5.

The poorest and most vulnerable people in the world are at risk due to the selfish behavior of countries represented by the U.S. The “America First” mentality is the distinctive characteristic of the U.S. capitalist system.

According to a report by German media outlet Deutsche Welle, Peru has one of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates in the world. Over 40,000 of its 32 million people have died of the disease, and Peru desperately needs the vaccine. In early February, Peru inked a contract with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, Victor Zamora, who was Peruvian health minister when the pandemic began a year ago, was not in the mood to celebrate. "Pfizer knows at what price and on what terms countries are buying. The company knows which countries have accepted which clauses," Zamora said, adding that the company demanded guarantees in case the state could not pay. Pfizer also sought access to Peru’s state property as collateral.

Obviously, the pharmaceutical companies represented by Pfizer are more interested in maximizing profits than in saving lives.

The U.S. claims that its most efficient economic and political system benefits the majority of people, and other countries should follow its example. However, the pursuit of selfish interests in the U.S. can be found in every aspect of American society.

In 2011, an ice storm struck Texas and resulted in rolling blackouts. Ten years later, the state was hit by a similar tragedy. The near collapse of the state's power and water supply in cold weather in mid-February is a direct consequence of extreme free market policies.

Electricity prices in Texas soared due to the staggering imbalance between the state's power supply and demand during the cold weather, according to a report from the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution.

Some Texans received electric bills of more than $10,000 in February, showing the “power” of the market.

The report pointed out that the most worrying thing is that the regulatory agencies had been negligible while the power industry is powerful enough to pursue profits over safety.

It is the long-lasting unsolved problems of the capitalist system, including selfishness and greed, that have resulted in the U.S. failing to selflessly assist other countries amid the pandemic, and caused Americans to suffer.