I do not think that the waiver will help us overcoming the current vaccine shortage. The first problem is that there is not enough infrastructure – manufacturing facilities, equipment, personnel – to expand vaccine production to the levels it should be at to meet pandemic demand. In this context, altering the intellectual property status quo does little – Ana Santos Rutschman, assistant professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law pointed out in a conversation with Lénárd Sándor, researcher at the National University of Public Service.
Ana Santos RUTSCHMAN is assistant professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law. She has published and presented widely on topics related to health law, food and drug regulation, intellectual property related to vaccines and other biotechnologies, innovation in the life sciences, and law and technology. She was a part of the COVID-19 Innovation Committee for the 2020 Biden presidential campaign. Her book, Vaccines as Tech
SCIENCE; (DATA) OUR WORLD IN DATA
All told, 14 billion doses could leave factories before the year is over, according to a document written in advance of a March summit about stepping up the production pace. That s a startling number before the pandemic, all of the world s vaccinemakers together produced at most 5.5 billion doses annually and the document stresses that it s the best of all scenarios. “We have a set of manufacturing challenges that make it unlikely that we can meet the 14-billion aspiration,” cautions Lurie, who helped organize the meeting.
Raw materials, such as disposable bags that line bioreactors, filters, and cell-culture media, are the biggest challenge. “Raw material inputs have nowhere near kept up with the anticipated demand,” Lurie says. Importing and exporting delays have exacerbated the shortages, and travel bans have made it difficult to move experts around the world to troubleshoot manufacturing snafus. Almost every vaccine producer has failed
The single most important priority of the global community is to stop the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks, to halt its rapid transmission and reverse the.
The single most important priority of the global community is to stop the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks, to halt its rapid transmission and reverse the trend of consequential global distress. We know that this goal is only achievable when everyone, everywhere can access the health technologies they need for COVID-19 detection, prevention, treatment and response. This pandemic is far from over, socio-economic inequalities have dramatically increased and lives continue to be lost. Now more than ever, international cooperation and solidarity are vital to restoring global security, today and for the future. The world has committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines, medicines and diagnostics. We are witness to great strides in scientific progress yet a failure to mass produce and share these critical tools will prolong the pandemic, laying the ground for dangerous new variants to emerge and undermine progres
Special press conference to mark the first anniversary of the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool
Special press conference to mark the first anniversary of the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool 28 May 2021 18:00 – 19:00 CET
Speakers:
His Excellency Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica
The Honourable Arancha González Laya, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Spain
Professor Jesús Marco, Vice-president, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
The Honourable Meryame Kitir, Minister of Development Cooperation, Belgium
The Honourable Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Health, Indonesia
Abdul Muktadir, Chairman and Managing Director, Incepta Pharmaceuticals
Alejandra Sanchez Cabezas, Director, Observatorio de Salud, Argentina
Join the press conference by Zoom: