Tomorrow Boris Johnson is giving a keynote speech at a global summit to urgently raise funds for life-saving vaccines in low-income countries.
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Hi John,
Tomorrow Boris Johnson is giving a keynote speech at a global summit to urgently raise funds for life-saving vaccines in low-income countries.
The prime minister’s address to the world will likely appear sympathetic to the global need for collaboration. He’s said before that finding a coronavirus vaccine is “the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”. But recent UK actions - from its lobbying at the World Health Organisation to its failure to back a groundbreaking patent-sharing plan last week - suggest the government’s sympathies lie with big pharma, not people’s health.
At tomorrow’s summit, Boris Johnson could side with people and take concrete action to force the pharmaceutical industry to do the right thing during this crisis. Or he could continue to say the right thing, but do the opposite.
Will you sign our petition to urge the UK to make any Covid-19 vaccine affordable for everyone, everywhere?
Sign the petition ([link removed])
Last week the government had the chance to support a global initiative calling on countries to join efforts for vaccines and treatments without big pharma patents and monopolies. Patent-free vaccines could mean access based on need not on wealth. But the UK refused to support the initiative and has previously tried to water down its aims. Meanwhile British big pharma companies involved in developing Covid-19 vaccines, GlaxoSmithKlein and AstraZeneca, refused to take part. And the director of the international pharmaceutical lobby said he was “too busy” to join the meeting.
Tomorrow’s summit is a chance for Boris Johnson to prove that his words aren’t empty and that the power of the pharmaceutical industry will not deter his government from challenging them when the time comes.
Will you sign the petition to urge the government to make sure that all vaccines are affordable for those who need them everywhere?
Sign the petition ([link removed])
Not only does a lack of global collaboration signal the need for a system incentivised by public need, it proves how out of touch the government and big pharma really are. A recent poll by the Wellcome Trust showed that 90% of the UK support Covid-19 medicines being made available to everywhere based on need.
As public money continues to foot the bill for vaccine development because it’s too much of a ‘risk’ for big pharma, tomorrow’s summit is a chance for the government to side with people’s health, not a system designed to make profit.
Sign the petition. Tell the government that it must stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and put people’s health everywhere first
Sign the petition ([link removed])
Thank you,
Radhika Patel
Campaigner at Global Justice Now
PS. You can read more about how the UK government is undermining global operation for a coronavirus vaccine in our article for the ([link removed]) Guardian yesterday. ([link removed])
Notes
US and UK 'lead push against global patent pool for Covid-19 drugs: [link removed]
WHO patent pool for potential Covid-19 products is ‘nonsense’, pharma leaders claim: [link removed]
UK failure to support Covid-19 vaccine collaboration is 'shameful', say campaigners: [link removed]
Wellcome Trust poll: [link removed]
** Help ensure that any Covid-19 vaccine is affordable for everyone, everywhere
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We are campaigning for the government to attach conditions on all UK funding for a Covid-19 vaccine so that big pharmaceuticals don’t charge extortionate prices, and leave millions of people around the world unable to access it.
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