The Need for a People’s Vaccine
As of late April, India has been experiencing one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the world, setting the global records daily in cases, with over 300,000 recorded nearly everyday since mid-April. That is equivalent to over 1 million new cases every three days. To put these numbers into perspective, when COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China in late 2019, “the total number of detected cases stands at fewer than 100,000.”
This dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths is a result of a shortage in medical supplies, massive gatherings such as political rallies and religious celebrations, lax public health regulations and a slow vaccination rollout. In addition to these dire circumstances, there is concern over a new “double mutant” variant of the virus that is suspected to be contributing to the rise in cases. This second wave comes as a shock to India and the rest of the world as the country’s had record lows in the COVID-19 cases during the previous month of February.
Prior to this surge in India, activists around the world were warning of this type of disaster where the global “vaccine apartheid” exacerbated the pandemic crisis. This unequal treatment has unraveled and will continue to do so across the Global South - countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania that are typically low- or middle-income. Meanwhile, in rich countries of the Global North, primarily located in North America and Europe, people are receiving vaccines at a much higher rate. According to the U.N., “richer countries have received more than 87 percent, and low-income countries just 0.2 percent.”
Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, explains why we need a “People’s Vaccine” to beat coronavirus.
In fact, on October 16, 2020, at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Council meeting, South Africa and India proposed a temporary patent waiver for the intellectual property (IP) rights to COVID-19 vaccines so more manufacturers can use vaccine formulas, particularly in poorer countries. Even though over 100 countries have agreed with South Africa and India’s proposal, decisions at the WTO are made by consensus, allowing high-income countries like the U.S., U.K., E.U., Canada and Norway to block the patent waiver proposal.
Why are these rich countries perpetuating global vaccine apartheid? A major explanation of this resistance by rich countries to support global health is due to concern over profits. For example, the Pfizer vaccine is on track to become “the second-highest revenue-generating drug anytime, anywhere.” While the profit motive is not directly expressed by the representatives of rich countries, their arguments mirror the arguments of the pharmaceutical industry.
The pharmaceutical industry talking points surrounding vaccine patent waivers consist of claims such as patent waivers “would stifle innovation, and that transferring the know-how to others would be too difficult or simply wouldn’t work.” However, the claim that waiving intellectual property rights would de-incentivize innovation becomes problematic when it is taken into consideration how research into the Moderna vaccine was heavily funded by U.S. taxpayers. Additionally, poorer countries certainly have the capability to produce vaccinations for their population - today, India is known as the “pharmacy of the world” and the small, island nation of Cuba is currently on track to become the first Latin American country to produce its own vaccine.
Nevertheless, it is the Western pharmaceutical industry, encapsulated by tech-billionaire Bill Gates’ recent comments in a Sky News interview, that try to convince the world that “moving something that had never been done—moving a vaccine, say, from a [Johnson & Johnson] factory into a factory in India—it’s novel—it’s only because of our grants and expertise that can happen at all.”
(2:36-4:06) Gates says sharing vaccine recipes would not be helpful in solving the COVID-19 crisis.
This kind of attitude reinforces the World Health Organization’s (WHO) current COVAX program which aims “to subsidize vaccine deals with poor countries through donations by, and sales to, richer ones.” This program has been criticized for not reaching its goals in vaccine distribution, funding and falling short of effectively reaching a sufficient immunity rate in poor countries.
According to Yuanqiong Hu, Senior Legal and Policy Adviser at the Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign, in regards to the need for vaccine technology transfers, “it is not an ‘either/or’ question. Governments need the full package of toolkits, including technology transfer deals and legal measures such as the patent ban.” This solution is much more cooperative and relies less on the charity of rich countries.
Not only is it the right thing to do when it comes to waiving the vaccine patent, but from a global health and strategic point of view, making vaccines more widely available would be much more productive. According to a survey conducted by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, two-thirds of epidemiologists “thought that we had a year or less before the virus [COVID-19] mutates to the extent that the majority of first-generation vaccines are rendered ineffective and new or modified vaccines are required.” In other words, all of the progress made so far with vaccinations around the world would become useless.
Of course, despite this dismal, future possibility, there are certainly opportunities for change. On May 5, 2021, the WTO General Council will once again meet to consider waiving the vaccine patent - giving U.S. President Joe Biden the chance to provide leadership on this issue. Already, U.S. Senators like Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and other leaders are urging Biden to support the emergency waiver. In fact, it was a campaign promise Biden made that he would not allow IP laws to cause barriers to worldwide access to the vaccine.
(18:36-20:05) Biden commits to creating global access to a COVID-19 vaccine, where patents do not act as a barrier.
During this time of rampant, global inequality there are several ways to show your solidarity with those in the Global South, who deserve equal rights to access a COVID-19 vaccine:
Sign Oxfam America’s petition urging President Biden to waive the vaccine patent
Call your elected representatives and ask them to support the vaccine patent waiver (find more information here!)
Support Mutual Aid Fundraisers in India in this time of need
Follow the actions of the People’s Vaccine Alliance
Header: Anna Shvets / Pexels
Written by Olivia Deally
