“We shall never know that! The three of the world’s biggest Covid-19 vaccine makers don’t want to share how the vaccines are made,” Scorch announced to her friends.
“Who are the three vaccine makers?” Orak wanted to know.
“They are Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna,” Scorch replied, “The three companies have developed and distributed vaccines for the Covid-19 virus.”
“A group of investors (people who provide money to businesses) wanted them to share the know-how to make the vaccines. If more companies in the world knew how to make the vaccine, manufacturing would increase. It would increase the rollout of vaccines in low or middle-income countries. So, they put proposals to the annual shareholders’ meeting of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna.
Shares are units of ownership in a company. People who own shares are called shareholders. They are the owners of the company. The shareholders of a company vote to take a decision.
The shareholders of all three companies decided against the proposal. The investors lost the vote,” Scorch said.
“Why did the shareholders vote against the proposal?” Felix said.
“The three companies said there was no need to increase the production of vaccines. They are already making doses faster than they can be used,” Scorch said.
“But that is contrary to reality. A third of the global population hasn’t yet received even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine,” Verum pointed out.
“You’re correct, Verum,” Scorch said, “If the vaccine production is increased, it would save lives and decrease the risk of new variants.”
Orak explained, “Variants are copies of the original virus. When a virus mutates, it changes. So, the variants are a little bit different from the original virus.”
“The companies said making a vaccine is a complicated process. It involves 280 ingredients from 86 suppliers in 19 countries. If the vaccines are not made properly, people would be at high risk,” Scorch said.
“The companies also claimed that they are already delivering enough vaccines to low and middle-income countries,” Scorch said, adding that, “they could have delivered more if there were no obstacles. Vaccines need to be refrigerated at a certain temperature. But some countries have low refrigeration capacity. There was a shortage of health workers. People weren’t ready to take the vaccines.”
“Their claim also needs some thought. Hope everyone in the world gets access to vaccines soon!” Verum wished.