a bit of vaccine news and vaccine nationalism

Moderna all in one day, last Monday, first positive results of trial, collects 1,34 billion in new stocks offering at 30 billion valuation, to be used for vaccine production https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/moderna-eyes-1-34-billion-stock-offering-to-manufacture-covid-19-vaccine

Sanofi says US will be the first to get vaccine since they invested in it https://www.businessinsider.com/potential-coronavirus-vaccine-united-states-first-french-pharmaceutical-sanofi-ceo-2020-5?IR=T

Advent will give the UK government the first 30 million doses of vaccine co-developed in Italy with IRBM https://www.irbm.com/press-review/london-reserves-30-million-doses-of-the-vaccine-born-between-oxford-and-pomezia-rome/

Let’s zoom out, The EU held a funding conference 2 weeks ago, collecting almost €8 billion. Bill Gates donated but the US was not even there, China attended but did not donate. Neither did Russia nor India attend. The world is divided in 5 blocks, each block has its own vaccine strategy

A beautiful 3d on vaccine and geopolitics by Paul Poast. Vaccine nationalism is a real risk, an aspect of the power politics of pandemics https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1257642933949476866

In the general uncooperative and nationalistic stance on Covid and vaccine, a country like Italy, biggest pharma producer in EU, should bet on one or more vaccine candidates and start building productive capacity. It would be an effective industrial policy and would give more chances to get the vaccine early.

Will we grab a few billions off the ESM and invest it? Or will we wait for the EU to ivenst its own 8 billions and dictate the strategy?