The urgent battle for Covid-19 vaccine patent waivers
There is a new coronavirus lie in town: “we can end the pandemic without changing the way vaccines are manufactured,” it goes, and it is whispered the loudest out of Brussels.
Just 5.7% of the world’s population has been fully vaccinated. Only another 5% have had a single dose.
If you are part of the new pandemic elite, congratulations — but you should hold off celebrating. If the end of your Covid-19 crisis feels near, it isn’t. The virus is thriving and mutating among the unvaccinated 94.3% of the world’s population, most of whom live in the global south.
While the conversation around vaccine inequality in the media has focused heavily on distribution, an increasing number of authoritative voices argue that manufacturing is a bigger issue, and that the only path out of the pandemic lies through a major increase in vaccine production.