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Waiving intellectual property rights could help poor countries get vaccines
By The Washington Post
Miriam Berger
As the coronavirus pandemic rages, World Trade Organization representatives have periodically gathered around a virtual table and clashed over how to more equitably increase global access to vaccines.
On one side are the United States and other mainly wealthy Western democracies, where the major pharmaceutical companies developing key vaccines and related medical technologies are based. They want to maintain the status quo, in which the trade secrets of their vaccines - i.e. intellectual property - remain in their hands to preserve profits and the incentive for future development.
During the AIDS epidemic, countries in the World Trade Organization agreed to put aside differences and issue waivers to increase access to life-saving antivirals. But many people died before they did.
Updated / Thursday, 17 Dec 2020
21:21
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Host: Colm Ó Mongáin
In the final episode of the year, Pandemic hears from Dimitri Eynikel, EU Policy Advisor to MSF/Doctors Without Borders Access Campaign for vaccines for low and middle income countries.
Also: Health Psychologist & QUB lecturer Dr Emma Berry on the findings of a survey in Northern Ireland looking at young people s compliance with social distancing rules.