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The People’s Vaccine Alliance – a journey to be proud of

Now and then, Oxfam and its supporters are part of something that defines who we are. Our history is punctuated with our part in big struggles. Always, together with others.

Sometimes we win; often we don’t, at least immediately – but we always take the side of those on the sharp end of our deeply unequal world.

Well, we’ve been at it again. Oxfam for the last two years has taken a historic side in the fight against vaccine apartheid. Last month marked a milestone in that struggle. We today want to recognize that journey (so far). And to thank people for their role in creating and powering this movement.

When COVID-19 began, we immediately knew that the vaccine would be vital to saving lives and ending the pandemic. But we also knew – through our history of work on access to medicines – that powerful big pharmaceutical corporations would use this opportunity to restrict supply, to put the opportunity for unprecedented profits before the lives of millions. With others, Oxfam set up the People’s Vaccine Alliance.

The ambitious idea? To break the powerful monopolies held over Covid-19 vaccines and technologies by some of the most powerful companies on earth, who in turn were protected by the richest governments on earth in a colonial manner. The collective aim? To help save the lives of millions of people from a deadly virus, and the compounding economic impacts, by developing countries being able to control their own vaccine supply. What it would look like? People from all walks of life coming together around the world in solidarity – joined by evidence, science, influential voices, united in hope that they have the power to demand better.

The journey

It began in May 2020, right at the inception of the pandemic, when we and others asked President Rhamaphosa of South Africa – who became the global leader on ending vaccine apartheid at the World Trade Organization – to come together with other world leaders on this issue. Since then Oxfam as part of the people’s vaccine alliance has produced powerful research – and got out the data to millions of people across the world. We’ve taken on the pharma companies directly – even directly in their AGM’s. We’ve mobilized millions and ensured voices from developing countries were heard. We’ve worked very closely with influential thought leaders and won over 150 former world leaders and Nobel Laureates behind this cause; worked with epidemiologists, health and economic experts, activists, celebrities and public figures the world over who have stood alongside us. We’ve fought to win over the public imagination (see this fun video).

Most importantly, some fifteen million people have joined us on this journey.  A people’s movement.

And we saw 100 governments come on board. We even saw the US government come out in favour of a version of the proposal we pushed for a year ago – which was unprecedented. We saw a significant shift in the dial in the international community.

Where we stand today

Last month we saw a decision that was not something to celebrate about, but at the same time showed how far we have come. An agreement was made at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on vaccines and intellectual property.  In no way was it the comprehensive waiving of intellectual property (IP) we had fought for, and we said so, together with many others.  It was a weak text pushed through by bullying rich nations.

Nevertheless, despite all its flaws, it represents one clear thing: the recognition by rich nations that intellectual property and the monopolies of big pharmaceutical corporations are a block; and that this system is broken.  The EU and others had consistently said that IP was not an issue in access to vaccines; now in the last few months they have changed tack, admitting that it was and then seeking to force through this weak agreement instead.

Our collective efforts were pivotal to forcing this turn around. Even the head of the WTO – who has been criticized for favouring rich countries – took the time out to criticize our efforts.

It’s been an unforgettable journey so far. We don’t want to single out individual affiliates and countries. We know how everyone has played a part. We want to thank you all.

The fight continues!

By no means have we won. The struggle continues. We must break those monopolies which have cost us – and we say this without exaggeration – millions of lives. But we have played our part in progress. We have to keep fighting for more. We have also helped build the secretariat for an entire new institution, backed by millions of dollars from donors, that has an exciting future head of it. The momentum we have created will help us to fight for a people’s vaccine – but also for universal healthcare, access to life-saving medicines, and for fighting inequality.

We especially feel proud that Oxfam has helped unite hundreds of organizations worldwide, and millions of people. We have played our part in uniting different movements – from trade to access to medicines to health to inequality to human rights and more.

They are clear – as we all must be – about an Oxfam that takes sides. That stands in solidarity with the many, against the rich and the powerful. That puts life over profit. That’s what defines us. We hope we can all feel proud about that.

G7 vaccines failures contribute to 600,000 preventable deaths  

Latest data suggests rich countries are likely to have already secured majority of next generation COVID vaccines  

Less than half (49 per cent) of the 2.1 billion COVID vaccine donations promised to poorer countries by G7 countries have been delivered, according to new figures published today by Oxfam and the People’s Vaccine Alliance.   

On the eve of this year’s G7 Summit, taking place in the German Alps, a new analysis shows that had the missing donated doses been shared in 2021, it could have been enough to save almost 600,000 lives in low and middle income countries, the equivalent of one every minute.  

The worst offenders are the UK and Canada, who have failed to deliver anywhere near the number of vaccines they promised. Just 39 per cent of the 100 million doses the UK pledged to deliver by the end of this month have actually been delivered. While the deadline to meet their respective commitments isn’t until the end of the year, only 30 per cent of Canada’s 50.7 million doses and 46 per cent of the 1.2 billion pledged by the US have been delivered. So-called ‘Team Europe’ have collectively delivered just 56 per cent of the 700 million doses promised by the middle of 2022 and Japan has delivered 64 per cent of the 60 million doses it said it would send.   

Latest data from Airfinity suggests that rich nations may have already secured over half (55 per cent) of the new generation of Omicron-specific mRNA COVID-19 vaccines being developed by Moderna and Pfizer/ BioNTech. This is even before they have been approved for use, making it likely that many developing countries will yet again be left at the back of the queue.  

Max Lawson, Head of Inequality Policy at Oxfam and Co-Chair of the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said: “On every level, rich nations have massively betrayed poor countries when it comes to COVID vaccines. First, they stockpiled all the supply for themselves, then they promised to donate their leftovers, but hundreds of millions of these doses never materialised.  

“Rich nations are already hoarding the new generation of Omicron specific vaccines, whilst people in poorer countries will be forced to continue to face new variants with vaccines that are increasingly ineffective. The only way to fix this is to give nations the rights to make their own, not rely on rich countries to pass on doses they no longer need and deliver too late for the millions who have died.”  

New data published yesterday by Imperial College London found that 599,300 deaths could have been averted in 2021 had 40 per cent of people in all countries been fully vaccinated. The billion missing doses that G7 countries failed to deliver would have been enough to reach this target. Nearly all these preventable deaths were in low- and middle-income countries.   

To date only 14 per cent of people in low-income countries and 18 per cent of people on the African continent are fully vaccinated – far from the target to have 70 per cent coverage in all nations by the middle of the year.  Despite such low vaccine coverage, the Imperial College research found COVID vaccines have saved 446,400 lives in Africa and 180,300 in low-income countries 

At the same time, rich nations led by the EU and UK have forced through a text at the WTO which has failed to waive intellectual property on vaccines, treatments and technology that would have enabled developing countries to produce their own generic vaccines. Instead, the text adds even more bureaucratic hurdles and further protects the hugely profitable monopolies of firms such as Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on all countries facing shortages of vaccines, tests and treatments to save lives and end the pandemic by using all trade rule flexibilities available and circumventing WTO rules if necessary. They say the G7 and other rich countries must not stand in their way.   

The campaign groups also say that the model of leaving developing countries to rely on donations in order to vaccinate people is completely flawed and actually leads to frustration and mistrust.   

Julia Kosgei, Policy Advisor at The People’s Vaccine Alliance said: “Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved in Africa by the vaccines, but so many more deaths could have been prevented. Vaccination programs have worked best when doses have arrived on time, allowing governments to plan and scale up distribution. But many countries waited a year to get their first doses. When doses finally arrived, they came all at once, often close to their expiry date, which is totally unmanageable and unfair for countries that have already struggling health systems.  

“Developing countries do not want to have to wait for leftovers, they want the reliability and dignity of being able to produce their own doses. It is a disgrace that rich countries stalled negotiations on an IP waiver to scale up vaccine production across the world so that pharmaceutical corporations could maximise profits while people died without access. To add insult to injury they couldn’t even be bothered to ensure timely access to the doses they didn’t even need.  

“Rich countries have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to act in the interests of public health for everyone, everywhere – it’s time for leaders from the global south to take matters into their own hands. We hope that governments will do whatever is needed to protect their populations – whether that is using flexibilities in global intellectual property rules or circumventing them to save lives. Rich countries must not get in their way.”  

Previous research by the People’s Vaccine Alliance found that vaccine monopolies are making it five times more expensive to vaccinate the world, while Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech are making over US$1,000 profit every second from COVID vaccines.  

Notes to editors:  

On Saturday 25 June an Oxfam ‘Big Heads’ photo opportunity will be taking place from 10.30am local time in Munich. Campaigners dressed as G7 leaders in hiking outfits will have to choose the right path to fight the COVID pandemic, standing at a big signpost with two directions, towards “Corporate profits” or “Saving lives”. For more information, please see the Media Advisory: https://oxfam.app.box.com/s/eg10zdy3w7x7rwbwwnouvx50ey2u4klz  

G7 donations  

The figures for the deliveries of donated vaccines to date were sourced from Airfinity’s non-public database, on 9th June 2022. Pledges are sourced below and are a combination of the pledges made at the 2021 G7 summit as well as subsequent commitments and only includes physical dose donations. 1,071,932,390 pledged Covid-19 doses are yet to be delivered.  

Country name  

Total deliveries to date of COVID-19 vaccine doses  

Pledged  

%  

By when  

Pledge source  

Canada  

 15,441,410   

 50,700,000   

30%  

End of 2022  

i  

Japan  

 38,477,570   

 60,000,000   

64%  

Not stated  

ii  

United Kingdom  

 39,090,930   

 100,000,000   

39%  

By June 2022  

iii  

United States  

 550,668,340   

 1,200,000,000   

46%  

before 2023  

iv  

Team Europe  

 395,089,360   

 700,000,000   

56%  

mid-2022  

v  

Total  

 1,038,767,610   

 2,110,700,000   

49%  

Country  

Delivered  

Pledged  

%  

By when  

Pledge source  

France  

 67,943,110   

 120,000,000   

57%  

Middle of 2022  

vi  

Germany  

 116,316,360   

 175,000,000   

66%  

End of 2022  

vii  

Italy  

 56,112,160   

100,700,000  

56%  

Not stated  

viii  

Team Europe is the vaccine initiative that includes all EU Member States as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Individual EU countries have made their own pledges which are part of the 700 million dose target.  

Preventable deaths  

A new study published on 23 June by Imperial College London, found that between 8th December 2020 to 8th December 2021, 599,300 additional deaths would have been averted if countries had met the WHO target of 40% of all populations being fully vaccinated.   

Income group  

Number of deaths that could have been averted at 40% target  

High Income  

20  

Upper middle income  

51,110  

Lower middle income  

347,500  

Low income  

200,000  

There are 525,600 minutes in a year and so there were 1.14 preventable deaths per minute in low- and middle-income countries.  Taking into account those who are partially and fully vaccinated, according to data from Our World in Data, analyzed by Oxfam, 961,963,161 doses were needed in low- and middle-income countries at the end of 2022 to reach the 40% target – assuming everyone has two vaccine doses. The missing doses pledge by G7 countries is 1,071,932,390. The deaths averted assumes that the G7 would have met their pledges during 2021 – many of the pledges are for delivery by the end of 2022.  

Omicron specific vaccines   

Analysis of the vaccine orders made with vaccine manufactures and projected production of new generation Omicron-specific mRNA vaccines for 2022 according to Airfinity found an estimated 61% of Pfizer / BioNTech’s projected 409 million new Omicron-specific mRNA vaccines and 36% of Moderna’s projected 113 million new generation Omicron-specific mRNA vaccines will ship to high-income countries – assuming new vaccines produced this year are distributed in the same proportions as overall 2022 supply proportions – for a total of 55% of overall supply of new generation mRNA COVID-19 vaccines going to high-income countries in 2022.   

Cost of vaccine monopolies   

The Great Vaccine Robbery report sets out the excessive prices being charged by some pharmaceutical companies for Covid-19 vaccines.  Oxfam calculated that Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna make US$1,000 profit every second.

G7 must pursue windfall taxes on excess corporate ‘pandemic profits’ and cancel poor country debts to fund fight against hunger

The G7 must pursue windfall taxes on excess corporate profits including from those making huge returns from surging food and energy prices. The revenues can be used to fund an end to global hunger and to tackle climate change.

The G7 meets this week in Germany with the world in deep crisis. Developing countries, still reeling from the impact of COVID-19 with their populations not yet fully vaccinated, are now being bankrupted by rapidly rising food and energy prices. Billions of people are struggling to buy food and millions are now facing acute hunger and famine-like conditions.

Oxfam is calling on G7 leaders to set out a properly funded plan to tackle the global food crisis. They should also address their failure to get the whole world is vaccinated against COVID-19, despite promising to do so a year ago.

Rising interest rates in rich nations are fuelling the debt crisis, with many countries facing default or crippling repayments. In 2022 the debt servicing for the world’s poorest countries is estimated at US$43 billion. In 2021, debt represented 171 percent of all spending on healthcare, education and social protection combined for low-income countries. Oxfam is calling on the G7 to immediately cancel 2022 and 2023 debt payments for all the low and middle-income countries that require it.

New Oxfam research shows that a 90 percent windfall tax on the excess profits made by G7’s largest corporations during the pandemic could generate almost US$430 billion. This could fully fund the shortfalls on all existing humanitarian appeals and a 10-year plan to end hunger, while also raising enough for a one-off payment of over US$3,000 to the poorest 10 percent of the population of the G7 countries to help cover the rising cost of living.

The G7 are proposing a new initiative called the ‘Global Alliance for Food Security’ to be launched at the leaders’ summit. Although the plan is promising, they launched a similar plan in Germany in 2015 to reduce the level of hungry people by 500 million, by 2030, but have so far failed to deliver the funding promised for it.

“This global hunger crisis, coming on top of the pandemic, is catastrophic. The G7 have a chance to show ordinary people that they are on their side, and not that of the corporates and creditors making huge excessive profits from these multiple crises. The G7 must implement a coordinated initiative of windfall taxes and debt cancellation to fully fund an action plan to end world hunger,” said Oxfam International Executive Director, Gabriela Bucher.

The G7 need to double the amount of aid they provide for agriculture, food security and nutrition, amounting to an additional US$14bn per year. At the same time, they need to fully fund the US$46 billion United Nations global humanitarian appeal, which is less than 20 percent funded today.

Oxfam research shows that corporations in the energy, food and pharmaceutical sectors – where monopolies are especially common – are posting record-high profits, even as wages have barely budged and workers struggle with decades-high prices and COVID-19. The fortunes of food and energy billionaires have risen by US$453 billion in the last two years, equivalent to US$1 billion every two days. Five of the largest energy companies (BP, Shell, Total Energies, Exxon and Chevron) are together making US$2,600 profit every second. There are now 62 new food billionaires.

The Ukraine crisis has had a huge impact on food prices but these are fuelled by long-standing inequalities and failures in the global food system. Equally the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis have deeply harmed the ability of poor people and poor nations to cope. Between April 2020 and December 2021, wheat prices had increased by 80 percent.

“Hunger thrives on inequality and inaction. Across all countries – as food and energy costs spiral – it is the poorest and most marginalized people who are faced with the most desperate choices. In the poorest countries, the cost-of-living crisis has become a test-of-survival. The G7 must react to the most fundamental of asks we can ever make of our political leaders – help to feed people and stop them dying,” Bucher said.

Agencies like Oxfam have been sounding the alarm about East Africa – where one person is likely dying of hunger every 48 seconds and the rains have recently failed again – but also in West Africa, which has been hit by its worst food crisis in a decade and where 27 million people are now going hungry. Hunger is stalking other countries too in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America – driven by inequality, climate change, the effects of COVID-19, conflict, poverty, and underinvestment in agriculture, aid and other essential services.

The G7 also needs to confront its failure to do its part in vaccinating the world against COVID-19. Just 18 percent of people in the poorest countries are fully vaccinated while the G7 have defended the monopolies of pharmaceutical corporations against allowing developing countries to manufacture their own vaccines. After years of delay, last week at the WTO ministerial, G7 nations forced through a deeply inadequate agreement on vaccines and intellectual property that will fail to support production in developing countries.

Vulnerable communities in lower-income countries are facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis. Emissions are rising, yet the targets offered by countries under the Paris Agreement to cut emissions to keep warming below the critical 1.5°C threshold are insufficient. Despite a call from last year’s UN climate summit to increase emission targets, the G7 have shown no willingness to heed the call.

Developed countries, including the G7, continue to miss their 2009 promise to provide the annual US$100 billion in climate finance for mitigation and adaptation for lower income countries. The G7 should commit to deliver on the goal set by COP26 to double their provision of adaptation financing by 2025 – to strengthen long-term resilience and address climate-induced hunger, and to make clear how they will do so.

Notes to editors

To calculate the excess profit tax, Oxfam looked at the profits of the companies listed on the Forbes 2000 list of the largest companies in the world based on sales, profits, assets, and market value. The database was accessed from an open dataset repository (2017-2021 and 2022), which was then spot checked and cleaned to the best of our ability, for example by standardising naming conventions. The companies who are based in G7 countries, that have been on the list from 2017-2022, and made a profit for each of those years, were selected and the average profit between 2017-2020 (considered the pre-pandemic period as the data cut off is in April) were subtracted from the average 2021-2022 profits to give an excess profit total. Only those who increased their profit above 10 percent of their pre-pandemic average were included. In total there are 360 companies in the cohort.

The total excess profit is US$477,226,450,000 which taxed at a 90 percent rate would create US$429,503,805,000 in revenue. According to the UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service there is a US$37 billion funding shortfall in humanitarian appeals. According to the Ceres2030: Sustainable Solutions to End Hunger report, which sets out a 10-year plan to eradicate hunger, an additional US$330 billion is needed over 10 years and that the donor funding gap over this period is US$140 billion. The population of G7 countries is 770 million, according to the UN. A one-off payment of US$3,253 to the poorest 10 percent would cost US$253 billion.

WTO agrees a deal on patents for Covid-19 vaccines – Oxfam reacts

Responding to news that governments at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have agreed a deal on patents for COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries, Max Lawson, Co-Chair of the People’s Vaccine Alliance and Head of Inequality Policy at Oxfam, said:

“This is absolutely not the broad intellectual property waiver the world desperately needs to ensure access to vaccines and treatments for everyone, everywhere. The EU, UK, US, and Switzerland blocked that text. This so-called compromise largely reiterates developing countries’ existing rights to override patents in certain circumstances. And it tries to restrict even that limited right to countries which do not already have capacity to produce COVID-19 vaccines. Put simply, it is a technocratic fudge aimed at saving reputations, not lives.

“The conduct of rich countries at the WTO has been utterly shameful. The EU has blocked anything that resembles a meaningful intellectual property waiver. The UK and Switzerland have used negotiations to twist the knife and make any text even worse. And the US has sat silently in negotiations with red lines designed to limit the impact of any agreement. 

“South Africa and India have led a twenty-month fight for the rights of developing countries to manufacture and access vaccines, tests, and treatments. It is disgraceful that rich countries have prevented the WTO from delivering a meaningful agreement on vaccines and have dodged their responsibility to take action on treatments while people die without them.

“There are some worrying new obligations in this text that could actually make it harder for countries to access vaccines in a pandemic. We hope that developing countries will now take bolder action to exercise their rights to override vaccine intellectual property rules and, if necessary, circumvent them to save lives.”

 

Notes to editors

Spokespeople are available for interviews in Geneva, where the WTO is hosting its 12th ministerial conference.

In October 2020, South Africa and India proposed a broad waiver of the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement covering COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. The EU, UK, and Switzerland blocked that proposal. The US supported an IP waiver for only vaccines. The final text agreed is a watered down waiver of one small clause of the TRIPS agreement relating to exports of vaccines. It also contains new barriers that are not in the original TRIPS agreement text.

Nearly 30,000 people have died every day from Covid since WTO talks on vaccine IP began

17.5 million people have died from COVID-19 in the 20 months since WTO talks about relaxing COVID-19 intellectual property (IP) rules began – the equivalent of nearly 30,000 people a day said campaigners from Oxfam and the People’s Vaccine Alliance today ahead of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial. Over half of deaths caused by COVID-19 have been in low- and lower-middle-income countries.

The IP waiver, which India and South Africa proposed in October 2020 and is backed by over 100 countries (including New Zealand), would allow low- and middle-income countries to produce their own cheaper generic COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments. However, a few countries – the UK, Switzerland, and those in the EU – have blocked WTO talks from reaching an agreement which could have saved countless lives.

Now, instead of focusing on the IP waiver, WTO negotiations are focused on a dangerous and limited alternative. Campaigners warn that the alternative proposal will not help producers in lower-income countries as it adds more hurdles preventing poorer countries from producing vaccines. In addition, it only covers vaccines, not tests or treatments, is not global in scope and does not cover all IP or technology transfer.

Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s health policy lead said: “Nearly thirty thousand people around the world have died every day since South Africa and India first proposed the IP waiver back in October 2020. If the world had acted immediately then many of these people could still be alive today. Yet, the UK and EU countries have continually sought to delay and dilute any meaningful outcome at the WTO and have refused to listen to the concerns of poorer countries.

“This is outrageous hypocrisy from leaders who said vaccines should be a global public good yet have worked for 20 months to derail the very process that could have delivered that promise. 

“With the world facing multiple crises on top of COVID, it is incomprehensible that we are still debating whether or not it’s a good idea for poorer countries to be able to produce their own vaccines, tests and treatments for this and any future pandemics.”

Oxfam and the People’s Vaccine Alliance warned that the deadlock at the WTO on an IP waiver risks ongoing trade negotiations and undermines the credibility of the organisation, especially as the global economy is facing the prospect of a recession coupled with rising food and fuel prices.

Julia Kosgei, policy advisor at the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said: “The EU says they are listening to their African partners, but in reality, they are turning a deaf ear to their calls for a real vaccine waiver and are instead in bed with Big Pharma. 

“EU countries should finally show some flexibility and good faith needed to secure a genuine IP waiver and rebuild trust with the world at this critical moment.”

Campaigners warn that the current vaccine apartheid is likely to be repeated with the next generation vaccines as well as for COVID treatments. Putting up new barriers to making vaccines could set a dangerous precedent for future pandemics, they warn.

Kosgei added: “‘Why should people in lower-income countries be forced to face today’s COVID variants with yesterday’s vaccines, while rich countries once again monopolize the supply of new vaccines made to protect against new variants?

“We don’t want charity; we want solidarity, and we want our rights! We call on all governments to finally do the right thing and back the waiving of IP for COVID vaccines, tests and treatments, for this and any future pandemics”.

 

Notes

 The number of deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic is based on the central estimates from the Economist’s excess death model. South Africa and India proposed an IP waiver at the WTO on 15 October 2020. In the 597 days since the waiver was proposed (up to 4 June 2022), 17,543,563 people are estimated to have died.

The administered percentage for Portugal, Austria and Cyprus is based on the total doses administered according to Our World in Data divided by total deliveries (minus doses that were then donated) according to the EU’s Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The African CDC reports that 70.4 percent of doses have been administered.

According to the WHO’s Global Health Expenditure Database, African countries spend on average 68 US dollars per capita on health compared to high-income countries that spend 2,239 US dollars. This is based on Government spending and capital expenditure in 2019 using current US dollars.

The new proposal was tabled by the WTO secretariat after discussions between the so-called Quad countries, comprised of the European Union, the United States, South Africa, and India. Only the EU has agreed to the text. It focuses only on COVID-19 vaccines and not on treatments. It includes new barriers to vaccine production, such as an impossible requirement to identify and list every patent relating to a vaccine before using flexibilities

Governments falling woefully short on goal to vaccinate 70 percent in each country by September

Vaccine Access Still a Concern as President Biden Hosts Second COVID Summit

World leaders have not done enough to achieve their goal of vaccinating 70 percent of people in each country by September, campaigners with the People’s Vaccine Alliance warned ahead of the second virtual summit on COVID-19 hosted by US President Biden along with Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal. The World Health Organization’s target of reaching 70 percent by mid-year is even further out of reach.

More than a year after vaccines were introduced, only 52 countries have met the 70 percent vaccination target so far, 69 have yet to achieve 40 percent coverage, and 21 countries have not yet achieved even 10 percent coverage. While more than 11 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, only 11 percent of people in low-income countries are vaccinated, compared with 73 percent of those in high-income countries, as of last month. At the current rate, it will take another two and a half years for low-income countries to be able to vaccinate 70 percent of their populations with an initial two doses.

Campaigners said progress had been too slow since the first COVID-19 summit in September last year and called on governments to do more to ensure doses are getting to people in countries behind target. Too many still haven’t received enough supply, have had unpredictable access, and have faced other challenges delivering doses to people in need. Campaigners have also called for urgent action to redress the spiraling COVID-19 treatment access divide caused by the same rich country hoarding and profit-driven Big Pharma business model that excludes people living in poverty throughout the world.   

Julia Kosgei, Policy Advisor to the People’s Vaccine Alliance said: “The donation model has failed to deliver vaccines, has thwarted effective vaccine roll out plans, and is completely unsustainable. More than two years into the pandemic, millions have yet to have the initial doses needed to protect them from this deadly disease.”

“How is it that my elderly grandma in rural Kenya is still unprotected from COVID, yet pharmaceutical companies are hitting unheard of profits and say the world is ‘swimming’ in doses? These corporations have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not willing to do the right thing for humanity. Governments must step in and ensure everyone; everywhere has the vaccines they need.”

The Alliance, a coalition of over 90 organizations including the African Alliance, Oxfam, and UNAIDS says that transferring technology to boost local manufacturing will help address ongoing concerns including on-the-ground distribution challenges, vaccine hesitancy, and an overall shortfall in doses.

For the past year and a half, countries have been discussing a widely supported waiver of intellectual property for COVID-19 vaccines (so-called TRIPS waiver) at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which would remove barriers to developing countries being able to produce their own doses of COVID-19 medical tools.

Despite President Biden’s declared backing of the waiver for vaccines, there has been little progress. In fact, the initiative is still being blocked by the European Union, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Instead, the EU has backed an alternative proposal, which is not a waiver and would not deliver the goals of the original proposal by excluding testing and treatments, leaving out many countries. Worse, it adds even more barriers to countries hoping to produce generic versions of the vaccines.

The Alliance is calling on President Biden to use his influence to ensure all world leaders back the full TRIPS waiver not only for vaccines, but also for test and treatments to give countries the protection and dignity of being able to produce COVID-19 medical tools themselves, rather than relying on a handful of Western pharmaceutical companies. The Alliance is also calling on increased funding for manufacturing and vaccine delivery.

Meanwhile, more than 100 qualified manufacturers in Asia, Africa and Latin America could be producing doses of the mRNA COVID vaccines, but this capacity is going unused without the cooperation and technology transfer from Pfizer, Moderna and BioNTech. At the Annual General Meetings of Pfizer and Moderna, the companies opposed shareholder proposals by Oxfam for each to study the feasibility of transferring vaccine technology to qualified manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries.

Anna Marriott, Oxfam’s Health Policy Manager, said: “At this second COVID Summit, we should be acting urgently on the key thing low- and middle-income countries are asking for: the ability to make their own vaccines for their own people.”

“The unwillingness to share the vaccine technology and funding shortfalls are stunting our global response to COVID-19. Governments, including the US, must step up funding for immediate vaccine roll out and for the mRNA hub and the manufacturing capacity needed to build a production network in the global South. This would reduce dependence on a failing charity model and allow the world to pull out of this pandemic once and for all.”

The Alliance also says the scale of the pandemic in developing nations has been massively underestimated due to the lack of testing available. Last week the World Health Organization estimated the true global death toll from the COVID pandemic to be almost 15 million lives lost, with a death toll in lower income countries four times higher than in high income countries.

Marriott continued: “Voluntary measures from companies have delivered wild profits but also persistent vaccine inequity, new waves and new variants, unreliable and insufficient donations, and billions of people still waiting for their tests, treatments and vaccines.”

“Enough is enough. It’s time for governments to take bolder action to put people before profits.”

 

Notes:

Copyright © 2024 Oxfam Aotearoa.

Oxfam is a worldwide development organisation that mobilises the power of people against injustice. Oxfam Aotearoa is a registered charity with the New Zealand Charities Register (registration CC24641). Donations are tax refundable.

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