It was uncomfortable watching President Cyril Ramaphosa flit around West Africa last week complaining about how the rich West was hoarding vaccines while poor Africans got none. This from a leader who is sitting on a vaccine stockpile of his own and has run out of people to give it to.

His complaining was well received, though. Sure, the Western travel bans are absurd but they’re not everywhere. The vaccines complaint has just become hollow and cheap, low-hanging fruit for activists and, evidently, politicians...