June 19, 2022
WTO deal on vaccine patents called a ‘sham’ dictated by big Pharma
“Once again, the shameful, undemocratic WTO process allowed rich countries representing corporate interests to strongarm a sham agreement that bears no resemblance to the original waiver proposal and will do nothing to help save lives for this or future pandemics,” says Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch. “The worldwide movement….will not throw in the towel just because WTO members decided to today.”
Max Lawson of the People’s Vaccine Alliance adds “This is absolutely not the broad intellectual property waiver the world desperately needs to ensure access to vaccines and treatments for everyone, everywhere. The EU, UK, US, and Switzerland blocked that text. This so-called compromise largely reiterates developing countries’ existing rights to override patents in certain circumstances. And it tries to restrict even that limited right to countries which do not already have capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines. Put simply, it is a technocratic fudge aimed at saving reputations, not lives.”
You can sort out the WTO decision on the COVID-19 vaccine TRIPS waiver via the links below of articles in the NY Times, Common Dreams, and IP Watchdog. Also, a good overview on steps to end vaccine apartheid is in the Peoples’ Vaccine: https://peoplesvaccine.org/how-to-end-vaccine-apartheid/
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/06/17/wto-deal-vaccine-patents-decried-sham-dictated-rich-nations-big-pharma
WTO Announces COVID Vaccine Waiver Deal That Virtually No One Wants
