We mustn't let the UK block a People's Vaccine
By Rajni Boddington and Kazi Ruksana Begum, Just Treatment Leaders
Today (11th March) we’ve hit the anniversary that no one is celebrating - a year since the World Health Organisation declared a global COVID-19 pandemic. And while many in countries like the UK are celebrating the rollout of their vaccination programs, the stark picture is that 130 countries are yet to receive a single dose.
“pharma companies retain control over who gets to manufacture the vaccines, where and when. They are artificially restricting supply - and it’s costing lives”
Living in the UK means we know our families here will all have had the vaccine soon, but our relatives in India and Bangladesh don’t have that peace of mind. Why should we get the vaccine when they cannot - are our lives worth more than theirs?
Countries from around the world will today be discussing a proposal by South Africa and India to the World Trade Organisation, and supported by one hundred developing countries, to waive intellectual property rights on all COVID-19 drugs and vaccines until the pandemic is under control.
Protesters in Cape Town take part of the People’s Vaccine Global Day of Action.
This TRIPs waiver proposal would suspend pharmaceutical company monopolies on COVID-19 drugs and vaccines for a temporary period of time. South Africa and India have been hit hard by the pandemic - their proposal would remove “barriers to the timely access to affordable medical products” for them and other countries. Despite billions of pounds of public funding, pharma companies retain control over who gets to manufacture the vaccines, where and when. They are artificially restricting supply - and it’s costing lives.
The waiver proposal would remove intellectual property barriers, allowing the scale up of manufacturing and production and increasing global supply. Yet the UK is one of the countries blocking the proposal while hoarding vaccine doses. Last week it was revealed that vaccine supplies that were intended for the developing world and now being redirected to the UK - not only are we blocking calls for reforms to increase supply, we are actively reducing the insufficient supply that developing countries have.
“We need a People’s Vaccine, not a profit vaccine, but right now the UK government is putting pharmaceutical company profits ahead of people’s right to health.”
India is a vaccine powerhouse and makes around 60% of global vaccines. They have agreements to supply many developing countries with the vaccine - including Bangladesh - as well as rolling out vaccinations domestically. Yet unless they are able to scale up production, they look set to miss even their own domestic targets. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, manufacturing capacity that could be used to produce COVID vaccines is instead lying idle. The 30 million doses they are set to receive so far will not even be enough to vaccinate the population of their capital city.
We need a People’s Vaccine, not a profit vaccine, but right now the UK government is putting pharmaceutical company profits ahead of people’s right to health. The end to this global pandemic lies in collaboration - sharing technical knowledge and intellectual property rights to enable any manufacturer in any country to produce enough vaccines for everyone.
While pharmaceutical companies continue to be given control over who can and cannot produce these vaccines then supplies remain artificially limited and many will go without access: our families in the UK will get access while those overseas are denied it. That’s why we are calling for the UK to do the right thing at the WTO today and support the TRIPs waiver.