John,
Vaccine availability continues to improve, and more shots are going into arms across the United States, but the pandemic is only worsening in other parts of the world.
Nowhere is that more apparent than India, where daily reported cases are in the hundreds of thousands — with no signs of slowing down. It's so bad that hospitals are consistently running out of oxygen and beds.
More than a year into this pandemic, we're learning that every new hotspot is another chance for the virus to mutate into a variant that can potentially evade vaccines and prolong community spread. And until we help the rest of the world tackle COVID-19, vulnerable communities at home and abroad remain at risk for more infection and unnecessary suffering.
There's a solution: President Joe Biden can temporarily waive patents and other intellectual property protections standing in the way of the ability of other countries to produce their own vaccines. Will you add your name to our petition calling on the Biden administration to #FreeTheVaccine today?
Add Your Name »
Our friend and health care activist Ady Barkan posed the following question in an interview with Biden last year:
"If the U.S. discovers a vaccine first, will you commit to sharing that technology with other countries? And will you ensure there are no patents to stand in the way of other countries and companies mass-producing those life-saving vaccines?"
Here's what President Biden had to say:
"Absolutely, positively. This is the only humane thing in the world to do."
According to recent polling from Data for Progress, 60% of American voters agree — which is why a majority of House Democrats signed a letter to the president calling for him to follow through on his promises ahead of a key World Trade Organization meeting this week.
Just yesterday, Pfizer announced that their COVID vaccine generated $3.5 billion in revenue1, which crystallizes the importance of this fight: As long as current patent and intellectual property restrictions prioritize pharmaceutical profits over people, a real end to this pandemic is out of reach.
Add your name to our petition: The Biden administration must act now to #FreeTheVaccine!
Add Your Name »
Thank you for joining us at this critical moment for a path forward out of this pandemic so we can heal and come together to make a nation that cares for all of us.
In solidarity,
All of us at the Working Families Party
Source:
1. Pfizer Reaps Hundreds of Millions in Profits From Covid Vaccine, The New York Times, May 4, 2021.
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