Bottles of a trial Covid-19 vaccine on a table in a lab in Brussels on June 18, 2020. (Photo: Vincent Kalut/Photonews via Getty Images)
Rich Nations Hoarding Potential Covid-19 Vaccine Doses, Warns Oxfam
"Governments will prolong this crisis in all of its human tragedy and economic damage if they allow pharmaceutical companies to protect their monopolies and profits."
Oxfam on Thursday reiterated its call for a "people's vaccine" as the anti-poverty group released a new analysis showing that a handful of rich nations representing just 13 percent of the world's population have snatched up over half of the promised Covid-19 vaccine doses.
"Access to a life-saving vaccine shouldn't depend on where you live or how much money you have," Robert Silverman, advocacy manager in Oxfam America's Private Sector department, said in a statement.
"The development and approval of a safe and effective vaccine is crucial," he said, "but equally important is making sure the vaccines are available and affordable to everyone."
In its findings, based on data from science analytics company Airfinity, Oxfam notes that nine vaccines are currently going through phase 3 clinical trials. Supply deals are known for five of those potential vaccines, and are being developed pharmaceutical giants by AstraZeneca, Gamaleya/Sputnik, Moderna, Pfizer and Sinovac.
The analysis comes amid swelling calls from global leaders, health experts, and groups including Oxfam for a so-called people's vaccine for the novel coronavirus. That effort would put the needs of public health above corporate profits and reject nationalist approaches towards vaccine acquisition.
According to Oxfam, out of supply deals inked for 5.3 billion doses, 51 percent--2.728 billion--were bought by wealthy nations including the U.K., U.S., Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, Switzerland, and Israel, and well as the European Union.
The group further warns that even if the five potential vaccines turn out to be sufficiently safe and effective--an unlikely scenario--the coming year would still be marked by the public health crisis because 61% of the world's population would likely not have a vaccine until at least 2022.
As Silverman noted in his statement, "Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere."
That simply underscores the need for a people's vaccine, says Chema Vera, interim executive director of Oxfam International.
"Governments will prolong this crisis in all of its human tragedy and economic damage if they allow pharmaceutical companies to protect their monopolies and profits," said Vera.
"No single corporation will ever be able to meet the world's need for a ovid-19 vaccine," he said, urging companies to "share their knowledge free of patents and to get behind a quantum leap in production to keep everyone safe."
"We need a people's vaccine, not a profit vaccine," Vera said.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Oxfam on Thursday reiterated its call for a "people's vaccine" as the anti-poverty group released a new analysis showing that a handful of rich nations representing just 13 percent of the world's population have snatched up over half of the promised Covid-19 vaccine doses.
"Access to a life-saving vaccine shouldn't depend on where you live or how much money you have," Robert Silverman, advocacy manager in Oxfam America's Private Sector department, said in a statement.
"The development and approval of a safe and effective vaccine is crucial," he said, "but equally important is making sure the vaccines are available and affordable to everyone."
In its findings, based on data from science analytics company Airfinity, Oxfam notes that nine vaccines are currently going through phase 3 clinical trials. Supply deals are known for five of those potential vaccines, and are being developed pharmaceutical giants by AstraZeneca, Gamaleya/Sputnik, Moderna, Pfizer and Sinovac.
The analysis comes amid swelling calls from global leaders, health experts, and groups including Oxfam for a so-called people's vaccine for the novel coronavirus. That effort would put the needs of public health above corporate profits and reject nationalist approaches towards vaccine acquisition.
According to Oxfam, out of supply deals inked for 5.3 billion doses, 51 percent--2.728 billion--were bought by wealthy nations including the U.K., U.S., Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, Switzerland, and Israel, and well as the European Union.
The group further warns that even if the five potential vaccines turn out to be sufficiently safe and effective--an unlikely scenario--the coming year would still be marked by the public health crisis because 61% of the world's population would likely not have a vaccine until at least 2022.
As Silverman noted in his statement, "Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere."
That simply underscores the need for a people's vaccine, says Chema Vera, interim executive director of Oxfam International.
"Governments will prolong this crisis in all of its human tragedy and economic damage if they allow pharmaceutical companies to protect their monopolies and profits," said Vera.
"No single corporation will ever be able to meet the world's need for a ovid-19 vaccine," he said, urging companies to "share their knowledge free of patents and to get behind a quantum leap in production to keep everyone safe."
"We need a people's vaccine, not a profit vaccine," Vera said.
Oxfam on Thursday reiterated its call for a "people's vaccine" as the anti-poverty group released a new analysis showing that a handful of rich nations representing just 13 percent of the world's population have snatched up over half of the promised Covid-19 vaccine doses.
"Access to a life-saving vaccine shouldn't depend on where you live or how much money you have," Robert Silverman, advocacy manager in Oxfam America's Private Sector department, said in a statement.
"The development and approval of a safe and effective vaccine is crucial," he said, "but equally important is making sure the vaccines are available and affordable to everyone."
In its findings, based on data from science analytics company Airfinity, Oxfam notes that nine vaccines are currently going through phase 3 clinical trials. Supply deals are known for five of those potential vaccines, and are being developed pharmaceutical giants by AstraZeneca, Gamaleya/Sputnik, Moderna, Pfizer and Sinovac.
The analysis comes amid swelling calls from global leaders, health experts, and groups including Oxfam for a so-called people's vaccine for the novel coronavirus. That effort would put the needs of public health above corporate profits and reject nationalist approaches towards vaccine acquisition.
According to Oxfam, out of supply deals inked for 5.3 billion doses, 51 percent--2.728 billion--were bought by wealthy nations including the U.K., U.S., Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, Japan, Switzerland, and Israel, and well as the European Union.
The group further warns that even if the five potential vaccines turn out to be sufficiently safe and effective--an unlikely scenario--the coming year would still be marked by the public health crisis because 61% of the world's population would likely not have a vaccine until at least 2022.
As Silverman noted in his statement, "Covid-19 anywhere is Covid-19 everywhere."
That simply underscores the need for a people's vaccine, says Chema Vera, interim executive director of Oxfam International.
"Governments will prolong this crisis in all of its human tragedy and economic damage if they allow pharmaceutical companies to protect their monopolies and profits," said Vera.
"No single corporation will ever be able to meet the world's need for a ovid-19 vaccine," he said, urging companies to "share their knowledge free of patents and to get behind a quantum leap in production to keep everyone safe."
"We need a people's vaccine, not a profit vaccine," Vera said.