Vaccine 'donations' won't end this pandemic
Last week it was reported that the government will be donating surplus COVID vaccine doses to poor countries. Having bought over 5 vaccine doses per head of population in the UK, the government has found itself with a not insignificant surplus. We’re currently coming second in the ranks when it comes to over-purchasing, and with most poor countries going without and many not expected to be able to vaccinate their populations for years to come, having leftovers is not a good look.
“instead of the ‘donation’ that was first reported, developing countries may instead be asked to pay for the UK’s excess doses.”
The shine was immediately taken off Johnson’s announcement by a simultaneous intervention by Macron, calling on the US and EU to send 5% of their doses to developing nations. The UK’s pledge is looking even less shiny now, as it appears that instead of the ‘donation’ that was first reported, developing countries may instead be asked to pay for the UK’s excess doses. In which case ‘we may simply be transferring what is sitting as a liability on the Treasury’s balance sheet over to the Covax facility. A move that would enable countries to purchase the extra vaccine stock that the UK had previously reserved, but only if they could afford it.’
Philanthropic, indeed.
In perhaps more positive vaccine news, the COVAX facility - the main mechanism through which the vast majority of the poorer nations of the world will currently be able to access a COVID vaccine - delivered its first doses this week, to Ghana. This is the first country of the 92 poorest that COVAX hopes to deliver vaccines to in less than a year. Meaning that 91 of those countries have still not received a single dose - while the UK has currently dished out over 18 million to its own population.
“the majority of the Ghanaian population will not be vaccinated until 2023, and some other sub-Saharan countries will be waiting until 2024”
COVAX aims to vaccinate 20% of the populations of poorer countries. Yet despite being first to receive vaccines from COVAX the majority of the Ghanaian population will not be vaccinated until 2023, and some other sub-Saharan countries will be waiting until 2024.
With rich countries like the UK, US and Canada, as well as the EU bloc, have been busy buying up more doses than they need, COVAX has been left behind. Developing countries who are in the position to do so quickly realised that they couldn’t rely on donations - and have instead been negotiating their own deals, with some eyebrow-raising results.
These deals don’t always tally with pharma’s public assurances on equitable access. Despite AstraZeneca’s pledge to a cost price for poor countries, it turns out that Uganda is paying $7 per dose in contrast to the $2-3 per jab that the EU and UK are paying. In a much more cynical move, Pfizer have been forcing Latin American countries to put up sovereign assets like embassy buildings and military bases as collateral against future possible legal cases, in order to secure vaccine contracts.
“when access to drugs is left in the hands of pharmaceutical companies then there’s only one winner - big pharma”
Experience tells us that when access to drugs is left in the hands of pharmaceutical companies then there’s only one winner - big pharma. We cannot rely on companies whose primary motive is profit to ensure affordable prices and equitable global access to a COVID vaccine. COVAX will not deliver on the scale that is needed because it does not challenge the monopoly control that pharma companies continue to hold over these vaccines.
We need an alternative. If pharma companies were pressured into joining the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), it would mean that any manufacturer around the world could make these vaccines. This would massively increase the available pot and bring down prices.
Just Treatment is part of the People’s Vaccine Alliance, which is calling for companies to join the C-TAP. Last December we ran a day of action which saw hundreds of people from around the world ring the offices of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna to ask them to join C-TAP. The next day of action is coming soon - sign up to our mailing list to make sure you hear about it. We’ve stood up to big pharma before and won - we know we can do it again.