*[Enwl-eng] What's at stake
ENWLine
|
AstraZeneca. Contracts. Vaccines. Reading the headlines, it’s easy to forget what we are really talking about here: people’s lives. Add your name to the call to release the patents on COVID vaccines which are our way out of this pandemic. |
Hi,
Adriano Trevisan was 77 years old and had a gentle smile. He loved to play cards with the locals of his small Italian hometown of Vo’. He was the first person to die of COVID-19 in Italy. [1]
Since then it’s been hard to learn the names, faces and stories of those we have lost. Instead we are presented with numbers. 88,845 deaths in Italy. Over 100,000 in the UK. [2]
So as the vaccines fight continues, we watch companies like AstraZeneca hold way too much power on who gets them. It’s easy to forget what is at stake. A sister. A friend. A grandfather.
Vaccines are the single best chance of survival for millions. We need to be able to produce them more widely and we need them to be affordable to get out of this pandemic. The first step is to make the rights to produce the vaccines, the patents, public.
It’s possible to do, but standing up to big pharma and their profits isn't easy. Charles Michel, President of the EU Council, has just joined the call of some MEPs for AstraZeneca’s patent to be made public. [3] Let’s make sure he puts his words into action.
|
Think about Polio for a moment -- it was a massive killer 50 years ago that left children crippled and an American president in a wheelchair. But you don’t hear about it much today because it was all but eradicated by vaccines - patent free vaccines. When Dr Jonas Salk, the developer of the first polio vaccine, was asked who owns the patent, he said this:
“The people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” [4]
In a pandemic that has claimed the lives of so many, there is no reason that COVID vaccines should not belong to people.
We are already seeing some key EU politicians speak up. It’s a start, but it’s not enough. This is where we come in. A one-hundred-thousand-strong petition will help our leaders know they can’t lose their nerve now.
|
The WeMove Europe community has come together in these unprecedented times to speak up for a new normal -- from a universal basic income for all to a recovery package for us built on solidarity. A people-powered and people-owned way out of this health crisis could be part of the new normal too.
For Adriano Trevisan, and those we lost before and after him, let’s not forget what is at stake.
With hope,
David (London), Olga (Bologna), Alex (Marseille) and the
entire WeMove team
PS: While many of us struggled over the last year, it’s no secret that big pharma has come out as one of the ‘big winners’ in this pandemic. For them, keeping a patent means protecting their profits. [5] Sign now to make sure there is no room for profits over lives in this pandemic.
References:
[1]
https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/02/22/news/adriano_trevisan_la_prima_vittima_di_coronavirus_in_italia-249260446/
(Article in Italian)
[2]
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52676411
[3]
https://www.politico.eu/article/charles-michel-says-eu-could-invoke-urgent-measures-response-coronavirus-vaccine-shortfall/
[4]
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/1/15/coronavirus_polio_vaccine_development_peter_salk
[5]
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54446285
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate
Follow on Twitter | Like on Facebook | Subscribe on Youtube
WeMove Europe SCE mbH | Planufer 91 Berlin | www.wemove.eu | Privacy policy
------------- * ENWL * ------------
Ecological North West Line * St. Petersburg, Russia
Independent Environmental Net Service
Russian: ENWL (North West), ENWL-inf (FSU), ENWL-misc (any topics)
English: ENWL-eng (world information)
Send information to en...@lew.spb.org, enwl...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org, en...@lew.spb.org
Subscription, Moderator: vf...@lew.spb.org or en...@enw.net.ru
Archive: http://groups.google.com/group/enwl/
Additionally: http://www.enwl.net.ru/
(C) Please refer to exclusive articles of ENWL
-------------------------------------