January, 24 2022, 12:39pm EDT
Letter Urges Pfizer CEO to Ramp Up Paxlovid Supply Agreements with Developing Countries
In a letter sent today to Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, Public Citizen warned that the company is poised to repeat the same mistakes it made with the inequitable rollout of its vaccine with the global distribution of its new antiviral treatment, Paxlovid.
"We are gravely concerned that inequalities in access to COVID-19 treatments will soon resemble, if not exceed, gaps in vaccine access seen around the world," says the letter.
WASHINGTON
In a letter sent today to Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, Public Citizen warned that the company is poised to repeat the same mistakes it made with the inequitable rollout of its vaccine with the global distribution of its new antiviral treatment, Paxlovid.
"We are gravely concerned that inequalities in access to COVID-19 treatments will soon resemble, if not exceed, gaps in vaccine access seen around the world," says the letter.
According to one estimate, more than half of the global population at increased risk of severe COVID-19 live in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. But Pfizer has entered into Paxlovid supply agreements almost exclusively with countries based in North America and Europe, notes the letter. No African country has yet to purchase the treatment at all.
Paxlovid shortages are acute and may remain so through 2022. Pfizer plans to produce enough Paxlovid for just 120 million people this year. Yet Pfizer has estimated that the "addressable patient population" - the number of people that may need Paxlovid - is more than twice that number, or 250 million people in 2022. Of these, 95 million patients would be in countries supplied by Medicine Patent Pool-licensed generics. However, according to a Pfizer investor document, this generics supply, intended to help meet need in many developing countries, may "come on board" only in 2023, suggesting a delay of at least a year. "This is unacceptable," says the letter.
The letter asks that Pfizer set aside at least two-thirds of its 2022 supply for developing countries at a reasonable price, and make transparent its allocation criteria, pricing, and delivery schedules. Second, it notes that the company should accelerate the entry of generic manufacturers licensed under the Medicines Patent Pool by providing deeper technical assistance and sharing regulatory information. Finally, Pfizer should expand the scope of the Medicines Patent Pool license to allow the generics producers to supply many more countries.
The letter concludes, "We urge Pfizer to help end the pandemic this year around the world--not just in a handful of rich countries."
"Pfizer is not prepared to meet global need," says Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines program at Public Citizen. "Millions of people in developing countries are likely to suffer through a COVID treatment shortage that mirrors the gross vaccine inequity of the past year. Generics can make a major difference, but not for many months yet, and Pfizer is erecting patent barriers in middle-income countries that have suffered terrible pandemics. Pfizer and wealthy countries should dedicate two-thirds of supply to low- and middle-income countries to prevent needless deaths, ease the pain of medical apartheid and shorten the pandemic."
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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UN Chief Warns of Israel's Syria Invasion and Land Seizures
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the "urgent need" for Israel to "de-escalate violence on all fronts."
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by Israel's "recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," including a ground invasion and airstrikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the war-torn Mideastern nation.
Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
"Look, when we talk about the healthcare crisis, in my view, and I think the view of a majority of Americans, the current system is broken, it is dysfunctional, it is cruel, and it is wildly inefficient—far too expensive," said Sanders (I-Vt.), whose position is backed up by various polls.
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In addition to highlighting Sanders' interview on social media, Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) pointed out to Business Insider on Wednesday that "you've got thousands of people that are sharing their stories of frustration" in the wake of Thompson's death.
Khanna—a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act, led in the House of Representatives by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)—made the case that you can recognize those stories without accepting the assassination.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2024 roundup, which was published Thursday, found that at least 54 journalists were killed on the job or in connection with their work this year, and 18 of them were killed by Israeli armed forces (16 in Palestine, and two in Lebanon).
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Meanwhile, in a statement released Thursday, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) announced that at least 139 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since the war in Gaza began in 2023, and in a statement released Wednesday, IFJ announced that 104 journalists had perished worldwide this year (which includes deaths from January 1 through December 10). IFJ's number for all of 2024 appears to be higher than RSF because RSF is only counting deaths that occurred "on the job or in connection with their work."
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