Wealthy First, Company Greed, Have Mercy on Us All
Only 16 percent of the world’s population have access to the vaccine. It reflects the majority of the first world. Corporate greed can destroy it for everyone – and it can get uglier and deadlier.
1) Given the dramatic escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, pressure is mounting on wealthy Western countries, including Germany, to release vaccine patents.
2) Otherwise, the much-needed increase in vaccine production may not be achieved, according to a recent appeal by Amnesty International and around 30 other aid and human rights organizations.
3) Accordingly, Germany continues to refuse to release the patents – and instead tries to satisfy India with aid deliveries. Same goes for other rich countries, including the United States.
More than 30 international aid and human rights organizations are increasing the appeal to at least temporarily release the patents on Covid-19 vaccines.
It includes the World Tourism Network’s new Health Without Frontiers initiative.
It is well known that “there are currently insufficient doses of vaccine available due to limited production capacities” to meet global demand.
With the revocation of the patents, the chance must therefore be opened up that in the future more vaccines can be manufactured at many other locations, according to a call from Amnesty International that has just been published. Otherwise “the necessary increase in production cannot be achieved.
