Will you sign the petition to end a worsening global crisis and urge President Biden to suspend patent laws to expedite global mass vaccine production?
Right now we are watching a devastating catastrophe unfold. India is in the midst of the worst wave of coronavirus infections we have ever seen, with at least 300,000 new cases every day -- and that's likely an undercount.1
India is also one of the world's biggest vaccine manufacturers. But because of patent rules, they are unable to make their own versions of the vaccines that many Americans are now able to easily obtain.2
As the rich countries of the world vaccinate their populations, countries like India are facing an unprecedented crisis and a spiraling death toll. Yet the U.S. government has consistently blocked efforts by India, South Africa, and other hard-hit countries to waive vaccine patents. Bernie Sanders and other members of Congress just demanded Biden act.3 But Big Pharma is pushing back.4
It's a matter of life and death, and our ability to end the pandemic hangs in the balance. This is as urgent as it gets -- can you speak up now?
Sign the petition: President Biden must suspend vaccine patents and expedite vaccine distribution worldwide!
In October, India and South Africa proposed that the World Trade Organization (WTO) waive intellectual property laws for Covid vaccines through the end of the pandemic, which would allow generic pharmaceutical companies to make additional vaccine doses and sell them to middle- and lower-income countries at a lower cost.5
Nearly 100 of these countries supported this proposal, while the US, the UK, and the EU, among others, opposed it, citing the importance of intellectual property rights in incentivizing "innovation" in the production of future vaccines.
The world’s wealthiest nations have administered 86% of all Covid-19 vaccines to date. Meanwhile, lower-income countries, which account for 80% of the world’s population, have only been at 0.1%. Unless there's a significant change in the existing distribution system, it will be at least two more years until the majority of the world will be vaccinated.6
The soaring death toll in India is a preview of what we could see around the world for the next two years -- unless we act right now.
Sign the petition: President Biden must use his executive authority to suspend vaccine patents to expedite vaccine production worldwide!
Sources:
1. The Independent, "US has no immediate plans to share Covid vaccines with India amid record-breaking surge," April 23, 2021.
2. Ibid.
3. Reuters, "Lawmakers urge Biden to back 'moral' patent waiver to speed vaccine access," April 23, 2021.
4. CNBC, "Rich countries are refusing to waive the rights on Covid vaccines as global cases hit record levels," April 21, 2021.
5. New York Times, "Want Vaccines Fast? Suspend Intellectual Property Rights," December 7, 2020.
6. Nature, "What it will take to vaccinate the world against COVID-19," March 25, 2021.