America Continues To Suffer Reputational Damage even as Biden Compliments Trump on Vaccine Development

Published in Cankao Xiaoxi
(China) on 25 December 2020
by Xiang Yang (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Enshia Li. Edited by Gillian Palmer.

 

 

The White House’s efforts to control COVID-19 have drawn a lot of criticism from the rest of the world and greatly damaged America’s image. Since May 2020, America has poured $12 billion into developing a vaccine and “approved” two candidates, restoring some of its reputation. Even President-elect Joe Biden praised Donald Trump, saying that “the administration deserves some credit getting this off the ground with Operation Warp Speed” and that the vaccine “gives us great hope.”

Objectively speaking, the successful development of the vaccine demonstrated that the U.S. is truly the world’s only superpower. The French newspaper Les Echos says that the U.S. displayed its innovative capacity, wealth, military might and other displays of conventional American power to accomplish a task that not many other countries can match.

However, even after the approval of the two vaccines, other nations are still skeptical of America, and America's reputation is still under scrutiny on the global stage.

Within the U.S., continuous chaos has actually been caused by the distribution of the vaccine. According to The Washington Post, politicians who never abided by quarantine regulations and medical personnel not engaged in virus control all received vaccinations first, even though essential workers are still painfully waiting. Aside from these people who “cut” the line, the rich and powerful in America also got the shot at the expense of others. Others have attempted to reach backdoor deals and lobby the Centers for Disease Control for faster access. As for ordinary Americans, nobody knows when the vaccinations will come.

Behind the chaos rests incurable structural failures built into the American system. American politicians love to boast that every person gets one vote in this country, but the equality declared in the Declaration of Independence fails in actuality. Capital runs American society, and elections are nothing but a game of money. The wealthy class is the privileged one. Since the eruption of COVID-19, inequality in the U.S. became more apparent than ever, from testing to vaccination. This oppressive system led to the tragedy of over, at present, 330,000 American deaths. Now, we can see American inequality from yet another vantage point.

Outside the U.S., skepticism of the country continues. It was the U.S. that first refused to join the WHO’s COVAX effort. After mass production of the vaccine began, America led the developed world in storing vaccines en masse at the expense of developing nations. As for the two vaccines developed by the U.S., they were not designed to benefit humankind. The transportation requirements for them are extremely high. The vaccine developed by Pfizer needs to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius which greatly limits the possibility of developing countries to distribute doses. Obviously, if developing countries want to put a stop to the pandemic, they still cannot count on the United States.

America has mobilized on many fronts in response to the virus, but it has only exhibited its “America First” stance. This shows that America is a country that only cares about its own interests, that it does not act as a superpower should. Even if America miraculously controls the virus, as long as one country still is afflicted by COVID-19, the world will not be at peace, and that includes the United States.

America cannot restore its reputation with these two vaccines. Only once the U.S. cures itself of its inequality and the “America First” disease can hope be restored to the world!


参考快评 | 拜登给特朗普点赞的这件事,为何还是打美国的脸?

参考消息网12月25日报道 白宫在防控新冠疫情方面饱受外界诟病,让美国在全世界的形象遭受重创。自今年5月起,美国斥资120亿美元发起“曲速”行动,以研究应对新冠病毒的药物和疫苗,目前已有两款新冠疫苗“开打”,表面上看似乎挽回了一些颜面。就连美国候任总统拜登也对特朗普点赞,称“特朗普政府为这项工作作出了一定贡献”,疫苗带来了“很大希望”。

客观而言,“曲速”行动确实展现了美国作为全球唯一超级大国的实力。法国《回声报》称,美国在“曲速”行动中“采取的是创新、大量资金、动用军事力量和营销等‘美国式’方法”,它为此采取的战略“并非每个国家都能企及”。

然而,在两款新冠疫苗问世后,美国在国内外仍面临不少质疑。美国在全世界的形象,仍然难言改观。

在美国国内,因疫苗分发而出现的种种乱象不断上演。据《华盛顿邮报》报道,疫情期间从不遵守防控准则的官员、医疗机构中不从事相关工作的管理人员都优先接种了疫苗,“而一线医务人员却还在苦苦等待”。除了一些参议员和州长被指责“插队”打疫苗之外,许多美国富豪、明星为了能在第一批打上疫苗,纷纷涌向有关机构问询捐款赞助能否享受优先;还有一些大财团公然“以钱开路”,游说疾控部门“开后门”。而饱受疫情之苦的美国普通民众,仍不知何时才能接种。

在上述乱象背后,是美国的社会痼疾。美国政客向来以“一人一票”的民主制度自吹自擂,声称美国是一个“平等的国度”,但美国《独立宣言》中所宣称的“人人生而平等”从未成为现实。资本向来左右着美国经济社会的运转,政治选举沦为金钱游戏,掌握财富和权势的人享受着一切优先。自新冠疫情暴发以来,美国社会的不平等已经暴露无遗。无论检测还是治疗,普通美国民众与政客、富豪“一流”的待遇不可同日而语,这才酿成了迄今逾33万美国人死于新冠肺炎的人间惨剧。现如今,疫苗分配乱象再一次向世人凸显了美国社会不平等的一面。

而在美国国外,就疫苗问题对美国提出的质疑从未停歇。美国先是拒绝参加世卫组织牵头的“新冠肺炎疫苗全球获得机制”。在新冠疫苗大规模上市后,美国又带领发达国家超量囤积疫苗,让许多发展中国家民众丧失接种机会。至于美国研发的两款新冠疫苗,也并非为了造福人类而设计的国际公共产品。美国疫苗的运输要求极高,其中辉瑞公司研发的疫苗需要零下70摄氏度的储存温度,这就大大限制了发展中国家获得美国疫苗的可能性。很显然,发展中国家要想终结疫情,仍然指望不上美国。

美国在疫苗问题上的种种举动,很显然是“美国优先”理念在作祟。这充分说明,美国是一个彻头彻尾的只注重本国利益的国家,而且还不惜为此牺牲其他国家的利益。这所有的一切,并不是一个负责任的超级大国应该有的表现。话说回来,即便美国疫情因为大规模的接种而出现好转,但只要还有一个国家存在疫情,世界就依旧不安全,美国也难独善其身。

单凭两款新冠疫苗,并不足以恢复美国的“名声”。只有当美国接种了可以治愈“社会不平等”和“美国优先”的疫苗,才能真正给这个世界带来“希望”!
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