The Covid-19, which was first detected in late 2019 and declared as a
worldwide pandemic in March 2020, has been going on for almost two
years. During this period, 271 million people were infected, and more
than 5 million people died due to Covid-19. The vast majority of
deaths have been in the United States, which has the most
market-oriented healthcare system in the world; however, “developed”
European countries with big economies also lead the ranking of deaths.

CAPITALISM BEARS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LOSSES

The biggest responsibility for the persistence of this public health
problem lies in the capitalist system prioritizing the profits of
monopolies to the detriment of human health. Adequate measures have
not been taken from the beginning; safety of workplaces, public
transportation, and public areas have not been achieved, and effective
surveillance of those who have caught the virus has not been carried
out. Large working masses were left between the dire choice of not
working and starving or catching the virus.

The commercialized healthcare system means that everything, from test
kits to drug treatments and intensive care services, is a commodity
bought and sold at high prices. While companies and private hospitals
producing such vital materials are getting richer as the pandemic
continues, millions of workers and other poor popular strata cannot
receive screening, diagnosis, and treatment services.

ALL RESEARCH, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY OF VACCINES AND
MEDICINES MUST BE IMPLEMENTED AND CONTROLLED BY THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Although effective vaccines against the virus were developed at the
end of last year, vaccination rates could not match the degrees to
immunize the majority of the people in many countries. That is because
drug and vaccine research is in the hands of monopolies which use
public resources and make huge profits from their products. Vaccine
production, distribution, and supply are left totally to the
initiative of monopolies and the competition between them.
The abolition of the patent for vaccines against Covid is required,
something that is opposed by the EU, many states and monopolies. This
would facilitate faster vaccination in countries where vaccination
rates are very low.
The thesis that argues "companies must lead drug and vaccine research
in order to make progress" is entirely wrong and it is a lie. The most
concrete proof of this is the success of Cuba's socialized health
system against the pandemic. Despite the criminal US blockade and
great economic difficulties, Cuba has managed to control the pandemic
with its planned and scientific approach and has vaccinated more than
eighty percent of its people with the vaccines developed by Cuban
researchers.

POLITICAL RIGHTS ARE ARBITRARILY USURPED

Capitalist states have also used the pandemic as an excuse to restrict
all kinds of political rights and freedoms of the people and prevent
workers from organizing. While the necessary measures were not taken
for the pandemic in practice, states of emergencies were created
arbitrarily with the prohibitions against the right to assembly and
demonstration. This situation is not only politically unacceptable but
also invites new and irreparable health problems.

BURN OUT OF HEALTH WORKERS MUST BE COMPENSATED

Another dimension of the damage done by the mismanagement of the
pandemic is related to the health workers, who are left with
inadequate equipment, long and tiring shifts, and insufficient times
to rest. Currently, it is stated that only two out of every five
health workers worldwide are fully vaccinated, while more than a
hundred thousand health workers lost their lives. Health workers in
many countries have carried out strikes and protests against
occupational burnout and labor exploitation. We salute their righteous
struggle.

The workers through their struggle demand a staged public and free
health system; against commercialization, the closure of public
hospitals, and the support of healthcare business groups. All private
health institutions should be requisitioned; a sufficient number of
facilities, intensive care units and primary health centers should be
established; and equipment deficiencies should be eliminated. Tests,
masks, vaccines should be distributed widely and free of charge. The
demands of the healthcare workers must be met, work intensification
must stop.

WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHT TO HEALTH

As member parties of the European Communist Initiative, we struggle
for the protection of peoples’ life and health, to assemble forces
with the prospect of a different organization of the economy and the
society, i.e. socialism, which will be exclusively determined by the
contemporary people’s needs, getting rid of business groups and
capitalist profit.