Vaccines are the key to sustainability

Without increasing vaccinations, we cannot restore economic stability

SALEEM SAMAD

Print and electronic media, coupled with social media, have unfortunately contributed to creating disinformation and fake news on the ongoing pandemic crisis, medical treatment, and vaccines.

Researchers on media monitoring on fake news argue that media has often fallen prey to misinformation and rumours about coronavirus and vaccines, especially when the newsroom gatekeepers failed to fact-check within the stipulated deadline.

In this tsunami-like pandemic from east to west, north to south in early 2020, the doctors, physicians, and even virologists and epidemiologists -- who were indeed the prime source for newsroom scribes -- initially gave confusing and contradictory sermons coated with medical jargon, which regrettably incited fake news, based on disinformation.

Despite hosts of myths being busted by the World Health Organization (WHO), both the frontline health care doctors and journalists kept their ears, eyes, and minds shut to myth-busters, like the three wise monkeys in folklore.

Sermons like hot water baths, drinking tea or hot water with traditional spices, eating garlic or peppers in food, application of hydroxychloroquine or malarial drugs, vitamin and mineral supplements, administration of antibiotics, exposure to the sun, and hosts of other remedies failed to prevent the deadly infection.

Leading epidemiologist Dr Mushtuq Husain explained that coronavirus is caused by a deadly virus, and is not a bacteria. There are several scientific studies to prove that vaccines do not compromise natural immunity, he also remarked.

Meanwhile, WHO reiterates that everybody should wear masks, especially in crowds indoors, but the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks to protect themselves from the virus.

The scientific statement was also validated by John Hopkins University, Oxford University, and Delhi-based CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, where researchers are spending sleepless nights to conclude that the efficacy and immunity of vaccinated people are protected even from new variants.

Virus experts and epidemiologists also offer mixed advice, but largely agree on one point: Whether or not a fully vaccinated person needs to wear a mask.

Well, mask mandates are intended to protect the unvaccinated -- people who are vaccinated are already well-protected by vaccines, and infection by new variants is still very rare.

It was logically argued that since a person cannot tell who is vaccinated and who is not, the best would be to advise all to wear a mask, which can help stop the spread of the virus by people who are infected, especially those who don’t have any symptoms.

Bangladesh was initially bogged down in the vaccine divide while procuring vaccines. Finally, the government has been able to negotiate with countries and pharmaceutical industries for a reasonable quantity of vaccines.

Despite the emergence of vaccines, the experts have strongly argued that the coronavirus is here to stay for a long period; the world has to embrace the new normal. On the other hand, experts conclude that vaccines are the key to restoring economic stability.

Leading economists in the country advise that accelerating the vaccine’s distribution will be necessary before the economy sees any long-lasting improvement. They strongly disagree that countering the lockdown in a pandemic with a stimulus is the wrong approach to economic recovery.

“We have to get enough vaccinations to enable people to feel comfortable in social settings. That’s the key to getting back to normal; then only would we have a great 2021,” observed top economist Dr Hossain Zillur, who has recently conducted an intensive study on the pandemic and its impact on disadvantaged populations.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 6 July 2021

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad

Control tobacco to fight the myth

Loopholes in existing laws need to be addressed

SALEEM SAMAD

Almost 40 years ago, I was a small-time crime reporter at an English language newspaper and had written a story on the sudden rise of the price of cigarettes produced by a multi-national company.

Embarrassed, the company immediately ceased inserting advertisements, and threatened to throw me out of the job, but refrained from issuing a clarification.

After several months, the newspaper owner apologized to the company’s chief executive to revert the decision on their advertisement ban. To the owner’s relief, the insertion of display advertisements resumed at the cost of a non-incremental of my salary.

This is one incident, among hundreds of incidents, of how the tobacco industry flexes its muscles with the patronage of the powerful ruling party politicians, and under the shadows of influential government bureaucrats.

Even today, the tobacco industry overtly flouts laws and restrictions in tobacco control policies. The government agencies responsible to monitor and punish the delinquent companies are playing the role of three monkeys -- see no evil, hear no evil, and speak to evil.

Well, if tobacco consumption or cigarette smoking pattern is analyzed based on KAP (knowledge, attitude, and practice) framework, then it could be determined that everybody has the knowledge that smoking is injurious to health.

The attitude of smokers tends to ignore the health warnings on smoking, despite some of their friends, relatives, neighbours, and colleagues have suffered from tobacco-related diseases.

Lastly, in practice, despite clear warnings, smokers deliberately smoke in public places, parks, restaurants, mass transports, office buildings, hospitals, and other non-smoking areas. They are rude when there are infants and children around.

Health scientists and researchers have concluded that women and children are the worst victims of second-hand smoking.

There is a need for immediate amendment of laws to control tobacco to achieve the targets set for Sustainable Development Goals -- SDG (2015-2030).

To achieve a successful landmark achievement in the SDGs, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced to make a tobacco-free country by 2040.

Despite her promise, the country is still lagging in effectively fighting tobacco consumption. The loopholes in existing rules and policy, and lapses in law enforcement are some reasons behind not reaching the goal.

Earlier, Bangladesh in 2003 signed the World Health Organizations (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) project.

In 2005, a tobacco law was introduced, and it was twice amended in 2013 and 2015 to update restriction and enforcement, which remains a challenge to ensuring a tobacco-free country. The challenge is that the tobacco industry contributes substantial revenue to the national exchequer.

The myth was busted after the Bangladesh Cancer Society in 2019 stated that the tobacco industry no doubt contributes Tk 22,810 crore as revenue, while tobacco-related diseases had to incur Tk 30,560cr in medical bills. Each year, the financial loss is staggering -- an estimated Tk 7,750cr to tobacco-related diseases.

Coupled with financial losses, tobacco-related deaths are nearly 126,000 people, and more than 200,000 become physically disabled due to diseases contributed from tobacco smoking.

On the other hand, second-hand smoking or passive smoking increases a non-smoker’s risk of getting lung cancer, and may also increase the risk of other cancers including the larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat). Second-hand smoke can also cause heart disease.

Therefore, all sorts of advertisements by tobacco companies should be restricted in a bid not to encourage new smokers on display at the point of sales (POS). The tobacco producers continue to attract consumers through product display in POS.

The loopholes in the law allow the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of tobacco companies to indirectly promote their products.

The regulation needs to also address the emerging e-cigarette products available in convenience stores, and online markets.

These are the prime reasons to address the flaws in existing law.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 23 February 2021

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, and recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com. Twitter @saleemsamad

Will a vaccine save the economy?

SALEEM SAMAD

Development Economist Dr Atiur Rahman sharing his mind said that once the availability of the coronavirus vaccine becomes a reality, the world economy will recuperate and Bangladesh will also make a dramatic turn-around.

However, a challenge remains of generating new employment and regenerating the labour market. The challenge could be bridled with a long and short term economic preparation, by an energetic team of planners and social managers selected.

The government has to develop a recovery plan of action to generate jobs and employment in both formal and non-formal sectors, says Atiur Rahman, a former governor of Bangladesh Bank.

Atiur says the expectation from the discovery and availability of the coronavirus vaccine has increased exponentially.

Meanwhile, over 100 influential global leaders have joined Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus after he launched an international campaign to make the Covid-19 vaccine a global common good.

The campaign on behalf of Nobel laureates and organizations of Nobel laureates, civil society leaders, and world moral leaders urged all the global leaders, international organizations, and governments to adopt legal measures and declare Covid-19 vaccine as a part of the global domain.

What the founder of the “bank for the poor” meant was that the vaccine should be available at a cheaper price for the developing countries, but not for the West only.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across mother earth, there is an explosion of research activities and clinical trials to find cures and vaccines, says Prof Yunus.

The platform urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to design a World Action Plan on the Covid-19 vaccine and appealed to set up an international committee responsible for monitoring the vaccine research.

The research for a vaccine is a long process. The estimated time for the development of a Covid-19 vaccine is about 18 months or so.

Prof Yunus’s campaign has received pro-active responses from more than 25 Nobel laureates, scores of former presidents, former PMs, creative artists, social justice activists, business leaders, leaders of international organizations, academics, and hosts of political and faith leaders from all the continents.

Obviously, private sector research laboratories engaged in the development of vaccines will be expecting a return on their investments. The research results should be in the public domain, making it available to any pharmaceuticals that pledge to produce vaccines under strict international regulatory supervision.

Prof Yunus believes that if the vaccines are free from patent rights, the price will be affordable in the third world. Most of the developing countries’ hospitals are overwhelmed providing health care to coronavirus patients on their shoe-string budget.

The pandemic exposes the strengths and weaknesses of health care systems in different countries, as well as the obstacles and inequalities of access to health care.

Therefore, the campaign understands the cash-strapped developing countries will not be able to buy the vaccine in bulk. The global leaders demand that the availability of vaccines is a right and there must be free universal access to the vaccine for all.

Governments, foundations, international financial organizations like the WB, and the regional development banks have been urged to develop a strategy on how to make the vaccine available free of cost to inhabitants from all walks of life, be they from urban or rural areas, men or women, or living in rich or poor countries.

The campaign underpins the moral responsibility of the global leaders to develop an unambiguous procedure to determine what would be a fair level of this return in exchange for putting the vaccine in the public domain.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 20 July 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, and recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com

Deep-rooted issues hamper Bangladesh’s recovery

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, healthcare workers in Bangladesh struggle to get their hands on good quality personal protection gears. The tendency to cover up irregularities and mismanagement has led to a prevailing culture of corruption.

SALEEM SAMAD

Recently, Bangladesh crossed the grim milestone of 1,62,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. With a population of 160 million, the developing economy has been grappling with formidable challenges that have only been exacerbated by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption, has squarely blamed the government’s poor coordination for the current crisis.

The rot within

Data shows that 26 percent of the frontline healthcare workers in Bangladesh, including doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, did not receive personal protection gears, even as the number of COVID-19 cases has been on the rise. Also, the protection materials supplied to government hospitals were deemed to be of inferior quality.

At least six doctors who brought up the issue via Facebook posts were suspended or transferred to non-COVID hospitals as punishment for speaking out. Eventually, at the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and anti-crime forces were shaken from their siesta. They raided dozens of places – including government warehouses – to find fake protective materials and stolen medical products.

“If the government wants to tackle this crisis, the right to get and publish accurate information must not be diminished,” said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB. The tendency to cover up irregularities and mismanagement through restrictions on disclosure of information encourages corruption.

Stitch in time

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, TIB analysed seven indicators of governance, including rule of law, responsiveness, capacity and effectiveness, coordination and participation, accountability, transparency, and control of corruption. “The government failed to make adequate preparations even after getting three months’ time,” noted Dr. Iftekharuzzaman.

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been largely ignored in the budget allocation for the health sector,” remarked Dr. Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). “The outbreak is a lesson for us, which has made it clear how much strength we have to tackle the crisis,” she said.

The Daily Star, an independent newspaper, in an editorial recently wrote: From the onset of the pandemic, citizens have been confused and frustrated about the government’s lack of vision and direction in addressing the health and socio-economic implications of COVID-19 holistically. The newspaper came heavily on the government’s casual handling of the risk of spread at the initial stages, declaring general holidays and non-binding lockdown.

The arbitrary policy decision at every stage, the editorial observed, have left ordinary citizens as well as experts in bewilderment as to what the government is thinking and what it wants to achieve in the near and far future.

Prof Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) drew flak from ruling party leaders when he recently said, “COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh will not go away in two or three months, rather it is likely to stay for two to three years.”

First published in the Health Analytics. 10 July 2020

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, and health fact-checker, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at ; Twitter @saleemsamad

Pandemic has exposed deep-seated weaknesses in Bangladesh

Photo: Reuters

SALEEM SAMAD

A senior staff member along with many others of a grocery chain outlet in Dhaka were hailed as “corona warriors” by a leading English newspaper. The daily did not hesitate to describe that “our humanity, empathy, and responsibility is being tested by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Shila Aktar, a customer relationship officer at a grocery outlet had a fever, but other signs of coronavirus were absent. With fever, she went from one government hospital to another -- over four consecutive days.

She tried day and night to access the dedicated helpline. Also, she desperately tried online registration with no luck.

On the third day, she had an outrageous experience at a government-dedicated Mughda Hospital for Covid-19 patients. The Ansar Battalion sold Tk20 tickets at the exorbitant price of Tk2,000 to 3,000 in connivance with the hospital staff.

Hearing her ordeal, a journalist wrote an angry post on Facebook. Promptly, the lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury responded pro-actively. The following day, the guards were removed and an additional booth to collect 150 additional samples a day was opened adjacent to the hospital.

On the fifth day, despite feeling weak, she stood in a queue from 6am in a make-shift booth in Bashabo, in the city. Finally, her sample was taken.

The issue did not end there. Now the waiting period began to get her virus test report. After four days she received a heartbreaking message online and also phone SMS that she was positive. 

“Dear Shila Aktar, your test for coronavirus is positive. Please stay at home. Be positive.”

The test for the coronavirus is a nightmare for millions in the country. Well, the government and private resources have been inadequate, coupled with widespread corruption in medical supplies and a lack of transparency in health care management.

As the crisis in Wuhan enlarged last winter, the “learned” heath minister Zahid Malek assured the nation that the country is fully prepared to overcome the pandemic.

When the virus finally struck on March 7, there were only a few ventilators in the country. The country had few virus testing labs, and no dedicated hospitals for infected patients when the first virus was detected in early March.

Despite media warnings, based on input from infectious disease experts, the airport authorities and immigration departments were lax in checking the entry of thousands of people, and also didn’t follow the quarantine protocols.

Well, the government never used the word “lockdown” or “curfew” and the police and civil administration all over the country failed to keep the people at home, maintain social distancing, wear masks, or practise basic hygiene.

The worst-case scenario was that the doctors, nurses, and health care staff often did not have enough PPE, including gloves and masks and safety materials.

Some state hospital senior doctors who have taken to social media to criticize the poor quality of medical supplies were punished. Even those who complained of poor living facilities in designated hotels were also punished.

Caught in a catch-22 situation, between lives and livelihoods, after 66 days, the government partially opened offices, factories (including export industries), shops, public transport, domestic flights, and restaurants. Several media reports say all the establishments flouted health guidelines with impunity.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been rated among the top 10 women leaders for the commendable job in coronavirus management by the prestigious Forbes magazine. She recently wrote in the British newspaper, The Guardian, that Bangladesh is unlikely to be the only country struggling with health, economic, and climate emergencies this year.

Most governments have proved dangerously unprepared for the crisis, which has exposed deep-seated weaknesses in public-health and social-security systems in rich and poor countries alike.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune, 16 June 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com. Twitter @saleemsamad

Asian countries flatten coronavirus curve

Photo: Reuters

Asian models that actually combated Covid-19
SALEEM SAMAD

Globally nations are convinced that washing hands with soap, wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, and staying home are prime health safety tips to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The scenario in Taiwan, however, is similar but strikingly different from most countries in Asia, Africa, America, and Europe struggling to combat the Covid-19 crisis.

In a new coronavirus twist, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong are examples of containment that have been hailed for using those lessons learned from combating the new coronavirus, officially Covid-19 and a relative of SARS.

By the time the virus began to spill over China’s frontiers in January, many health think-tanks believed that territories having proximity would take the major brunt for a large-scale outbreak.

Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong territories are closely interconnected with mainland China, unilaterally imposed travel restrictions on nationals returning from China, contravening the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) insistence that a travel ban was not necessary.

The precaution, nevertheless, came at a significant economic cost to these international hubs, which all rely on mainland China as their biggest trading partner and source of tourists too.

Amid these grim trends, South Korea has emerged as a sign of hope and a model to imitate as coronavirus cases have dropped sharply to a single digit. 

The South Korean president hoped that containment progress gave hope that the coronavirus outbreak is “surmountable” in other parts of the world.

Well, after after the deadly SARS epidemic in 2003, Taiwan established a Central Command Centre for Epidemics. The country had introduced national drills in educational institutions, government establishments, and factories for preparedness on bio-safety.

The Command Centre has quickly compiled a list of 124 “action items,” including border controls, school and work policies, public communication plans and resource assessments of hospitals, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The 210 countries typically struggling with the coronavirus pandemic have gambled on a containment strategy. It has socked hundreds of countries that have imposed strict shutdowns and stay-home policies to hear that Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam residents venture outside only by necessity while national emergency remains enforced.

Unlike wealthier Asian neigbours, Vietnam does not have the capabilities to conduct mass testing, but surprisingly the country has zero fatalities with no new cases in the last several days. The status of coronavirus cases was 268 and 202 recovered as of April 20.

Hong Kong, an autonomous state of China promptly imposed border control from early February and made quarantine in hospitals mandatory for those returning from mainland China.

Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million had had just 1,026 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection, recovery of 602 and four deaths as of April 20, according to a new study published in the health journal Lancet.

A study by Harvard University’s Centre for Communicable Disease Dynamics estimates Singapore detected almost three times more cases than the global average due to its strong disease surveillance and fastidious contact tracing.

In Singapore, amid the coronavirus outbreak, quarantine, and isolation protocols were strictly enforced. 

The government has deployed plainclothes police officers to track persons in quarantine and used government-issued mobile phones to keep tabs on them.

The challenges remain for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore of a growing number of recovered Covid-19 patients relapsing especially in South Korea, raising fresh concerns among scientists and health authorities after the countries successfully flattened the curve. 

First published in The Dhaka Tribune on 20 April 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad; he can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com

Activists Attempting to Push Abortion Drugs Into Pro-Life Bangladesh

Family Planning bare-foot health workers explain birth control pills

REBECCA OAS

A researcher dedicated to bringing risky medical abortion to developing countries has set her sights on Bangladesh. Her new study demonstrates a plan to expand access to abortion pills by using misleading language and an unusual set of laws.

The study proposes redefining “menstrual regulation” to include medical as well as surgical methods.

Since the 1970s, “menstrual regulation” took advantage of a legal loophole in Bangladesh, which outlaws most abortions. After missing her period, a woman could undergo a uterine evacuation, ostensibly to induce her menstrual cycle. While the procedure was technically identical to an early-term abortion using a manual vacuum aspirator, it was not legally classified as an abortion unless a test confirmed the pregnancy first.

“Abortion remains a very sensitive topic in Bangladesh,” wrote Julie DaVanzo and Mizanur Rahman in an article on Matlab, a region that has been the focus of several studies on abortion and family planning. “In fact, many of the restrictions for MR [menstrual regulation], particularly its availability only before pregnancy is clinically confirmed, are to reinforce the perception of MR as something other than abortion.”

The new study reaffirms that any such perception is merely semantic. The method being tested is identical to the procedure for medical abortion, and the authors compare their results to those obtained using “this regimen in other settings.” In the other settings, no euphemisms for abortion were used.

Study coauthor Dr. Beverly Winikoff is a longtime champion of medical abortion. Her organization Gynuity led the effort to convince the World Health Organization to classify drugs that can be used for abortion as “essential medicines.”

Collaborating with Winikoff on the project were researchers from the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh. In addition to studying diarrheal disease, the group focuses heavily on reproductive health. According to its website, “One of the greatest challenges in Bangladesh is population control,” and their efforts to reduce births range from the distribution of “behavioral change materials” to this recent study aimed at increasing the acceptability of medical abortion by another name.

While the study concluded that medical abortions would be feasible in Bangladesh, health care providers in focus groups raised concerns about drug quality and medical oversight given the lack of regulation of pharmacies and the widespread availability of drugs without prescription. They also noted that the trial did not look at rural areas.

A doctor who reviewed the study points out that of 651 study participants, 22 were lost to follow-up after being given the drugs. “Are they dead?” asked Dr. Donna Harrison. “Who knows?”

Today, “menstrual regulation” remains largely unique to Bangladesh, a product of the majority-Muslim nation’s willingness to turn a blind eye to early abortion while appearing to enact tough restrictions on it overall. Abortion promoters in the early 1970s saw its potential for gaining unwitting acceptance of abortion methods. Gynecologist Geoffrey Davis posited in 1972 that the euphemism could have a worldwide impact.

“Perhaps one of the greatest contributions that somebody could make to this is a new term that would do for abortion what “family planning” did for “birth control,” Davis wrote.  “If we could call this something more acceptable than abortion, we could get the public’s attitude changed a little faster.”

First appeared in LifeNews.com, August 12, 2013

LifeNews Note: Rebecca Oas, Ph.D. writes for the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute