Using Louisiana from the article, 90% of the waste was from started vials that weren't finished before they expired from being initially punctured (starts a countdown for safety/effectiveness reasons). We could overnight those to airports in other countries and then, somehow, quickly transport them (while refrigerated) to remote areas. Yeah, that would totally show up with enough time to still be useful.
Or, hear me out, we could make sure other countries get doses straight from production sources instead of getting the just-about-to-expire doses left over from the US.
Louisiana has been throwing out doses for months now. At the outset, yes, this is acceptable, but when your waste is increasing month over month for six months+ you just start sending out less and you ship out the rest.
You also don't "overnight them to remote areas". You drop them off at the airport, then the other country either sends their military aviation or charters another countries cargos to pick them up.
> Louisiana has been throwing out doses for months now. At the outset, yes, this is acceptable, but when your waste is increasing month over month for six months+ you just start sending out less and you ship out the rest.
Ok, that's fair. But the rest of your comments in this discussion have been about how the waste itself is the result of a lie and that, somehow, we can collect already distributed and started vials quickly enough to fly them to other countries and, somehow, distribute quickly enough within them for it to be worthwhile and not just a hurried rush to find out that people are getting little better than a placebo.
If you'd read my second paragraph, I suggest exactly what you did: Make sure countries get doses from the sources instead of fretting about waste that, itself, is useless because there is no logistical scheme in place or even reasonably achievable that can collect and redistribute these doses to make them useful.
EDIT: Now I'm glad I quoted you as you've edited your comment after my initial reply.
> You also don't "overnight them to remote areas". You drop them off at the airport, then the other country either sends their military aviation or charters another countries cargos to pick them up.
Practically speaking, once the vials are started the countdown begins. The only reasonable way to use the started vials in countries on other continents and distribute to their remote communities is to ship it as fast as possible, which means overnighting. You can't collect them and wait a week to ship them and then a week or more to get them distributed within the countries and expect a useful vaccine dose to be delivered.
Also, you've misquoted me. I did not say "overnight them to remote areas" as you suggest. I said "overnight those to airports in other countries". Those are two very different statements. Don't make fake quotes in your replies, it's dishonest.
As I've said, you're not overnighting to other countries. Once you bring them to your local international airport they can take it from there. I didn't change what I said, I just clarified the wording.
You'll be surprised but generally plane flights take less than a week.
> As I've said, you're not overnighting to other countries. Once you bring them to your local international airport they can take it from there. I didn't change what I said, I just clarified the wording.
Ok so 224k wasted doses in Louisiana over around 6 months, 180 days. That's not even 2k doses per day, let's round up. There are probably more than 100 vaccination locations around Louisiana, so we're talking about no more than 20 doses per location being wasted (on average). Somehow, we're expected to totally reverse the distribution system every single night to collect at most 2k doses to take to an international airport and have, what, the other countries pay to have them shipped ASAP to their country. Let's say only 100 countries are sending aircraft, that's 20 doses that they're trying to get back to their people each day from Louisiana.
That's a totally reasonable approach, versus, say, getting them the initial batches instead.
> You'll be surprised but generally plane flights take less than a week.
Yes, but for 20 doses a day I doubt most countries would send or contract aircraft from Louisiana.
Or, hear me out, we could make sure other countries get doses straight from production sources instead of getting the just-about-to-expire doses left over from the US.