Hi John,
Staying at home, only going out for the essentials and keeping a 2-metre distance; we’re all doing something vital to slow the spread of Covid-19 and save lives. But even the most effective containment strategy will not protect everyone. Only a vaccine can. And as things stand, there is a danger that any future vaccine will only be available to those who are able to afford it, while big pharmaceutical companies will be cashing in on one of the worst pandemics of the century.
Last week, the UK government announced another £210 million record funding on top of the £40 million already committed to the international coalition to find a vaccine. That’s great news. But once the vaccine has been discovered it will be up to big pharmaceutical companies to develop and manufacture it. And that means they can hold patents on the vaccine and charge extortionate prices, leaving millions of people around the world unable to afford it.
Now that the government has committed £250 million to find a vaccine, we urgently need to step up our campaign to ensure that any vaccine is affordable for everyone, everywhere. Can you help us by donating today, if you’re in a position to do so?
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Coronavirus is not only revealing existing inequality, it is deepening it
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In the coming months, we are likely to see countries in the global south struggle to absorb the shock of this health crisis. As Covid-19 started to wreak havoc in the US, Donald Trump quickly offered ‘large sums' of money for exclusive US access to a potential vaccine. There’s a real danger that other rich countries could follow suit and try to hoard a potential vaccine, while vulnerable people in lower income countries will be left without.
And here in the UK, the NHS has increasingly had to reject or ration new effective drugs in recent years because they are too expensive. A future Covid-19 vaccine, produced and patented by a big corporation, might put more pressure on our already cash-strapped health service. And that’s all despite the UK taxpayer having effectively paid twice for the vaccine: first through investing in research, and then by paying a high price for the resulting vaccine.
But we have people around the globe on our side. Just last week, US pharma giant Gilead was granted a new 7-year patent on an existing medicine that could be used to treat coronavirus, meaning they could make bumper profits. But after a public outcry, they have now backed down. And Ecuador and Chile are saying they’ll issue compulsory licenses that would allow the government to sidestep patents related to Covid-19 medical technologies if needs be.
Things are moving fast, and human trials of a Covid-19 vaccine have begun. And although we have already made headway we now need to step up our campaign efforts before it’s too late. But we need your help to do that.
Will you donate today and help reach more people online and through the media, create more public education tools like webinars and distribute our new campaign briefing to MPs?
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Building on a long-standing campaign for affordable medicines
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Although this pandemic is new, the unfairness of our global drug production is not. In spite of advances in medical innovation, millions of people around the world suffer and die from treatable conditions because medicines and vaccines are too expensive, or not researched at all. At the same time, this profit-driven model has made the pharmaceutical industry the most profitable in the world.
But thanks to the support of people like you, we’ve already had some big successes in our long-standing campaign to make medicines democratically controlled and affordable for all. Our report, Pills and Profits, was used by European campaigners to conduct research into public funding of medicines in their own countries. And last year the Labour Party announced a policy to help break the special powers of big pharmaceutical companies and produce cheaper, essential generic drugs.
Now we need to make sure that any new Covid-19 vaccine or treatment is affordable for all and reaches those who need it most. Will you help by donating today?
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Thank you for your continued support for our campaigns at this critical time. Let’s work together for something better.
In solidarity,
Heidi Chow
Senior campaigner at Global Justice Now
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PS. We understand that some people might not be able to make a donation at this time due to the current situation. We appreciate everyone who supports our campaign in other ways.
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