Global Affairs

Politics and fears over Covid-19 vaccine

Aside from conspiracy theories, the injection of nationalist sentiments into scientific debates about the vaccine approval process is stoking the rise of anti-vax sentiments

An NHS pharmacy technician simulates the preparation of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in London on Dec 4, 2020. PHOTO: AFP
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Britain's race to become the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine has not been well received around the world.

"You know, I love the Brits; they're great, they are good scientists," said Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US infectious disease specialist. "But they just took the data from the Pfizer (pharmaceutical) company and instead of scrutinising it really, really carefully, they just said okay let us approve it. That's it. And they went with it."

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