{"id":15752,"date":"2021-01-29T23:32:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T23:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmatilda.com\/?p=139934"},"modified":"2021-01-29T23:32:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T23:32:06","slug":"let-them-eat-cake-and-catch-covid-argues-labors-katy-gallagher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/29\/let-them-eat-cake-and-catch-covid-argues-labors-katy-gallagher\/","title":{"rendered":"Let Them Eat Cake\u2026 And Catch COVID, Argues Labor\u2019s Katy Gallagher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
DON’T MISS ANYTHING! ONE CLICK TO GET NEW MATILDA DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX, FREE!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tackling the global pandemic through vaccine equity is in everybody\u2019s interest… except maybe people living in rich countries, and Labor Senators. Geoff Russell explains. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The face of selfish rich world entitlement was front and centre\nin TV news reports on Thursday. In Australia, Senator Katy Gallagher was attacking\nChief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy during the Senate Enquiry into COVID-19 about\nour vaccine rollout: \u201cWe\u2019re not at the front of the queue, are we?\u201d she complained<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well no, Australia isn\u2019t at the front of the queue. And we also don\u2019t have thousands of people dying each day, and a hospital system in crisis. Ms Gallagher might protest that she was actually trying to attack Scott Morrison, but it was pretty bloody clear she thought Australia should be given special priority over other nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We bloody well should not<\/em> be at the front of the queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHO\u2019s recent plea(s), more than one, for vaccine equity, seems\nto have bypassed Ms Gallagher, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the EU, we have Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides playing hard ball<\/a> over doses of vaccine she claims should be delivered to the EU from manufacturing plants in the UK. Well yes, people are dying at high rates in various countries in the EU, but not at quite the rate of the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n