
Trump offers 'large sums' for exclusive access to coronavirus vaccine - mnem
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine
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anigbrowl
While we should absolutely be throwing resources at capable scientists now,
attempting to purchase exclusivity rather than maximizing availability by
freely distributing validated knowledge as widely as possible is precisely the
wrong approach. If this story is true, it suggests that the administration's
response to an acute human crisis is to consolidate power at any cost. Whether
such a policy is driven by fear or avarice is secondary to the fact of its
aggressively zero-sum nature.

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mjd
This is a really misleading title. The evidence here is extremely thin, and
The Guardian has no actual source, just reports from _Die Welt_ that
themselves claim only an anonymous source.

I suggest something more like: “Anonymous German source claims that Trump
offered…”. It's a lot less misleading, and a lot less interesting.

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anigbrowl
Stories on HN have to be in English, and English-language German sources (like
DW) are just quoting _Die Welt_. You seem to have missed the detail that the
German government confirmed the veracity of the quotes attributed to sources
within it.

~~~
mjd
According to the article, the German government would _only_ confirm the
accuracy of the quotes attributed to its spokespersons:

> the German health ministry would only confirm the accuracy of the quotes
> attributed to one of its spokespersons in the article

The health ministry did _not_ confirm the anonymous claim that “Trump was
doing everything to secure a vaccine against the coronavirus for the US, ‘but
for the US only’.” Spokespersons, by definition, do not speak anonymously.

I hope this clears things up for you.

~~~
anigbrowl
Yes, that's what I said, and no additional clarification from you is required.
You may find the following updates to be of interest, including confirmation
from the german interior minister:

[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-
german...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-
usa/germany-tries-to-stop-us-from-luring-away-firm-seeking-coronavirus-
vaccine-idUSKBN2120IV)

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germany-
coronavi...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-
curevac-vaccine-trump-
rights/2020/03/15/8d684c68-6702-11ea-b199-3a9799c54512_story.html)

