Will US heed the distress signal of COVID crises abroad?
This month, President Biden authorized the sending of 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to 92 lower-income nations and the African Union. This latest headline represents a call to action and suggests that the United States and other higher-income nations must do more to aid countries in dire need of critical health care infrastructure and material. Africas fight with the pandemic is far from over, and the virus is surging in many countries where vaccination rates are lagging severely and where public health and safety measures are lacking. Advertisement  Specifically, the United States should work to pass the Global Health Security Act in Congress, which would make US health aid to developing nations a hallmark of our foreign policy and would drastically increase and enhance the preparedness and resilience of target nations to future pandemics and global health crises. It also would provide concrete policy recommendations that would ensure adequate and symbiotic development along medical fronts in these nations, which would reduce death rates, including those by preventable diseases, as well as childhood mortality rates. The developing world desperately needs this type of assistance. The crisis in Africa brought on by COVID-19 and inadequate disease-prevention responses and access to vaccines solidifies the need for the United States to act. Ian McGrail  Georgetown      US can do far more for the developing world  I was inspired by the article COVID surge in Africa raises fears of calamity like Indias, and appreciated it as a reminder to Americans that the pandemic is not over. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of foreign aid to developing nations. If the United States were to allocate more funding and dedicate additional personnel toward humanitarian projects abroad, we could curtail the impact of the next crisis on the level of COVID-19. Advertisement  Some projects that could save lives in a future African crisis are broad and proactive, such as installing network cables that allow for rapid and reliable communication. Others are short-term and reactive, such as donating personal desks that could make social distancing more feasible than the central tables used in many African schools. The United States can do far more for the developing world than it does now. Indeed, research has shown that many Americans vastly overestimate our spending on foreign aid. An increase in the international affairs budget could save untold amounts of money by improving the global economy and preventing future crises from spiraling out of control. Sawyer Lachance  Kennebunkport, Maine      With variant spreading, lack of vaccines remains a key factor  It is great to see that more than 4.1 million people have been fully vaccinated in Massachusetts, representing 60.3 percent of the state. More than half of all vaccine-eligible Americans have received both doses. However, what is going on in other countries is worrisome. As a second-generation Indian American, Ive been heartbroken to see the devastation going on in my home country, where many are sick and families have been devastated. The lack of available vaccines is a contributing factor. Now, with a new Delta variant spreading, we need to do more as a country to help supply and send more vaccines to other nations. The more people who are fully vaccinated globally, the better we can do in the fight against this COVID-19 variant. We can save thousands of lives around the world, if not millions, if we send more vaccines to developing countries. As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it is our responsibility to help others in dire situations. Advertisement  Abhi Ramesh  Acton