Health System: Total Control by the Technostructure?
In early May, the WHO announced that COVID-19 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of global concern. At the end of May, the amendments to the Pandemic Treaty and the new version of the International Health Regulations are to be voted on at the World Health Assembly. The health system is about to be completely transformed by international organisations and the medical-pharmaceutical technostructure. Many EU Member States will not fight back - their health systems are under great pressure and can no longer be funded. Do total supervision, external control and new therapies promise simple solutions?
The Commission President did not say much on the occasion of the WHO's lifting of the health emergency. But her message is perfectly clear - Member States' health systems are being transformed. Ursula von der Leyen is proud that the EU's superstructure is progressing rapidly: " We have strengthened our health security framework and crisis preparedness mechanisms. We have established the Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA) to be better prepared for future health emergencies. We have a stronger European Medicine Agency (EMA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)."[1]
The Commission President did not say much on the occasion of the WHO's lifting of the health emergency. But her message is perfectly clear - Member States' health systems are being transformed. Ursula von der Leyen is proud that the EU's superstructure is progressing rapidly: " We have strengthened our health security framework and crisis preparedness mechanisms. We have established the Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA) to be better prepared for future health emergencies. We have a stronger European Medicine Agency (EMA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)."[1]
This path leads straight to centralised control and surveillance. Supranational authorities are being given more and more powers. On the other hand, democratic control is diminishing.
International super-authority
This process is supported by the WHO. At the World Health Assembly in Geneva at the end of May 2023, the amendments to the Pandemic Treaty and the new version of the International Health Regulations are to be voted on. Whereas the WHO has so far only been able to make recommendations, it is now to have binding basic decisions (Art. 1, 41) and subsequent control and sanction measures on the measures taken by national states in the event of a pandemic ('global health response').
This situation is open to criticism. In Germany, for example, the security expert Uwe G. Kranz, former Director of the Thuringian Criminal Police Office, wrote an open letter to the members of the German Bundestag: "This would call into question essential pillars of our liberal and democratic constitutional order, just as possible violations of fundamental rights would become unverifiable for every individual. The proposed deletion of the terms 'dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms' is unacceptable. (Art. 3)".[2]
Kranz asks the parliamentarians to approach the subject from the perspective of constitutional law. He criticises the fact that, in addition to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, three officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office are to travel to Geneva for the vote: "The WHO is ultimately an unelected global 'health authority' that is largely financed by private foundations and pharmaceutical companies, to whom it has also been granting broad decision-making powers since 2016."
A system on the verge of implosion
International organisations and their authorities, such as the WHO, HERA or the EMA, currently have it easy. Indeed, the health system of many EU Member States is under strain.
In recent years, have people not been subjected to compulsory confinements and vaccinations in order to protect this very system from collapse?
In 1991, Germany still had 2,400 hospitals with 665,000 beds. In 2021, there were 1,900 facilities with 484,000 beds. Calculated on the basis of the population, the rate has fallen from 832 to 581 beds per 100,000 inhabitants.[3] In the autumn, 30-40% of intensive care beds were closed due to lack of staff.[4] According to a new survey, staff shortages are pushing German paediatric clinics to the limit of their capacity: in 43 out of 110 paediatric hospitals, there was not a single bed left in normal operation at the end of November.[5] In Austria, according to a very recent survey, about 10% of hospital beds are blocked. There is a serious shortage of more than 2,000 carers.[6]
Both Germany and Austria have experienced an unprecedented shortage of antibiotics in recent months, which has mainly affected the treatment of children.[7] Access to antibiotics and medicines containing paracetamol or ibuprofen has become increasingly difficult in many Member States during the winter, with severe shortages of medicines in the EU. Reasons given are the lack of geographical diversification in the supply of essential ingredients and medicines, the perceived complexity of regulations and the increasing specialisation of supply chains.[8]
Too little money, outdated structures, not enough staff. But Ursula von der Leyen anticipates the solution: "Together with the Member States, ECDC, EMA and HERA, we therefore
need to continue our monitoring and surveillance, ensure vaccination of
the vulnerable, so that we are always prepared for future health crises.[9]
New promises of a cure
Total surveillance and external monitoring is one thing. New therapies that promise rapid (and large-scale) medical treatment and cure are another. The Covid-19 vaccine business certainly fell sharply in the first quarter for the German pharmaceutical group BioNTech. The drop in turnover amounted to four-fifths (now 1.28 billion euros). Nevertheless, BioNTech has confirmed its forecast to achieve a turnover of around five billion euros this year from Covid-19 vaccines. By 2022, this figure had exceeded 17 billion euros. The Mainz-based company is currently focusing strategically on developing and expanding its drug pipeline - with a particular emphasis on oncology. In addition, mRNA vaccines against cancer, shingles and tuberculosis as well as a new generation of Covid-19 vaccines are in development. "These programmes are strategically aligned with our vision of being able to provide significant therapeutic benefit to patients with solid tumours, whether they are in the early stages of disease or have already progressed," said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech. [10]
Pharmaceutical companies like BioNTech made billions in profits thanks to generous government support during the Covid-19 crisis. They are now advancing the research and development of mRNA technology for all kinds of vaccines. The WHO, EU and Member State authorities are supporting this through fast-track and conditional marketing authorisation procedures, justified by the high public health interest or by imminent medical or pandemic emergencies. mRNA vaccines can be produced quickly and cheaply. In the context of severely damaged health systems in many European states, pharmaceutical companies will - with or without a pandemic - sell their products as a panacea. The creation of supranational authorities will make it even easier for them.
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[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_23_2628
[1] https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/142341/Zahl-der-Krankenhausbetten-ruecklaeufig
[1] https://oesterreich.orf.at/stories/3207032/
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fr/STATEMENT_23_2628