radiofree.asia

Category: Covid-19 vaccine

  • Pfizer’s Record-Shattering $100 Billion in Revenue Denounced as ‘Sickening’



    The U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reported Tuesday that it brought in a record-breaking $100.3 billion in revenue in 2022 and $31.4 billion in profit, sums that campaigners decried as “sickening” in the face of an ongoing pandemic and persistent inequities in coronavirus vaccine access.

    “In one year alone, Pfizer’s revenue has exceeded the total health expenditures of more than 100 countries combined,” Julia Kosgei, policy co-lead for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement. “If it were a country, Pfizer would sit in the wealthiest third of nation-states. And it has amassed this fortune while jacking up prices on Covid-19 vaccines amid a pandemic that has devastated people’s livelihoods. Put simply, Pfizer has plundered health systems for profit.”

    Pfizer, led by CEO Albert Bourla, is the manufacturer of one of the two available mRNA vaccines for Covid-19, as well as the oral coronavirus treatment Paxlovid. The company reported $56 billion in sales of its Covid-19 vaccine and Paxlovid, though it said it expects sales to drop in the coming year as it moves to hike prices significantly on its vaccine—a plan that has drawn international alarm and outrage.

    Globally, more than 2,600 people are dying from Covid-19 each day on average. According to Our World in Data, just over 26% of people in low-income nations have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose as Pfizer and other pharmaceutical giants refuse to make their vaccine technology available to all—even though it was developed with the help of government funding and scientific advancements.

    “Billions of people in developing countries still cannot access affordable Covid-19 medicines,” said Kosgei. “Companies like Pfizer are gobbling up ever-greater proportions of health budgets and handing the spoils to wealthy shareholders—all while treating access for developing countries as little more than a PR initiative. We cannot go on like this.”

    The U.K.-based advocacy group Global Justice Now called Pfizer’s record earnings report “sickening.”

    “With this latest ‘all-time high’ announcement, Pfizer now has revenues higher than the GDP of 133 countries, including 8 E.U. member states, and is the first pharma company ever to make $100 billion in a year,” noted Tim Bierley, the group’s pharma campaigner. “But not content with doubling its revenues with a pandemic windfall, they are now still moving to aggressively hike the price of Covid-19 booster doses, putting even more pressure on already struggling public health systems.”

    “Their latest record-breaking revenues are further proof that the company treated the pandemic as an opportunity to enrich its shareholders,” Bierley added. “We can’t allow Big Pharma companies to hold us to ransom in this way. We need the government to be bold and break with the monopoly patent model that fails people everywhere. It’s time to put people’s lives above corporate profit.”

    “A people-funded vaccine should be cheap and freely available.”

    Both Pfizer and Moderna have signaled plans to raise the prices of their vaccines to somewhere between $110 to $130 per dose in the U.S. as the Biden administration moves ahead with the commercialization of coronavirus inoculations, tests, and treatments—shifting costs onto patients and insurers and leaving the uninsured to shoulder significant payments.

    The U.S. government has previously paid around $30 per dose for Pfizer’s vaccine.

    In recent days, the Biden administration has faced growing calls to use the federal government’s ownership of key patents and other leverage to force Moderna and Pfizer to make their vaccines affordable and readily available to all who want them.

    “The Biden administration should not allow Moderna to more than quadruple the price of the Covid vaccine to $130 when it costs just $2.85 to produce,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted on Sunday. “The Covid vaccine must be used to save lives, not to further enrich the billionaire owners of Moderna.”

    Moderna and Pfizer are also facing backlash from lawmakers overseas over their planned price increases.

    In a letter to Bourla and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel on Tuesday, British MP Caroline Lucas of the Green Party and three other lawmakers wrote that with the National Health Service “already under significant pressure and the costs of medicines increasing year on year, we are extremely concerned about the multiple impacts of a possible price hike.”

    “Throughout its development, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received huge amounts of public money and support internationally,” the lawmakers wrote. “Even the mRNA technology that Pfizer/BioNTech employed in the Covid-19 vaccine is rooted in decades of publicly funded research. A people-funded vaccine should be cheap and freely available.”

    This post was originally published on Common Dreams.

  • Boomtime in Canberra as PWC cashes in on pandemic demand

    PwC was paid more than $312 million through federal government contracts last financial year, capping off a three-year pandemic period where it’s Commonwealth business skyrocketed by 63 per cent. The record year included being paid $11,000 a day by the Industry department to assess government grants, and a lucrative contract from the Health department for…

    The post Boomtime in Canberra as PWC cashes in on pandemic demand appeared first on InnovationAus.com.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.com.

  • Coronavirus surge predicted as schools re-open

    The total number of coronavirus (covid-19) infections in the UK has seen a rise of over 20% within the last three weeks. Following a six-week drop in numbers from a high of 4,640,491 cases on 17 July, we hit a low of 1,490,772 on 21 September. However, yesterday – 21 September – saw a total of 1,794,310 infections according to the ZOE health study, showing the first signs of a new surge.

    Record-breaking increase

    i News reported that professor Tim Spector, of King’s College London and the ZOE study, predicts that:

     daily symptomatic infections will rise to around 600,000 to 650,000 cases a day by the end of October or early November, considerably higher than the previous record of 351,000 in July.

    These predictions are supported by similar findings from Independent SAGE, a body of scientists working to provide independent advice on covid to the UK government. Christina Pagel, professor at University College London and Independent SAGE member, tweeted that the:

    latest NHS England data for hospital admissions with Covid to 19 Sept is showing a definite upturn.

    The ‘unmitigated’ scenario

    Prof. Pagel also agreed that we are likely to see a significant covid wave in October because of the rise of new, more transmissible variants. She stated that there are:

    various lineages growing that significantly outcompete current major variant (BA.5.2) … most notably brand new omicron sub BQ.1.1, (faster even than BA.2.75.2) of which UK has 50% global numbers (only 30 still).

    Stephen Griffin, associate professor at Leeds University and Independent SAGE member, criticised the lack of prevention measures other than vaccines. He said:

    We remain in a highly unstable and ‘unmitigated’ scenario due to the over-reliance upon vaccines in isolation. Waning protection from infection, combined with changes in behaviour mean that BA5 is likely to rebound – for example with schools, universities and workplaces returning and more time spent indoors without open windows, and the near-abandonment of masking.

    …As schools re-open

    The UK government has removed all remaining domestic restrictions which might otherwise have limited the rise in case numbers. In particular, as schools and universities re-open across the country, government advice holds that:

    It is not recommended that children and young people are tested for COVID-19 unless directed to by a health professional […]

    Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive COVID-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.

    We know that the BQ.1.1 is more transmissible than ever before. We know that long covid is causing lasting symptoms for as many as 20% of survivors. Even if our children are at less risk, as the government says, their teachers are not. Their families are not. The people whom those teachers and families come into contact with are not. What we are seeing here is simply another example of the callous disregard that the Tories have for the lives of the people they are meant to protect.

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Alissa Eckert, Dan Higgins, resized to 770×403

    By Alex/Rose Cocker

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • ‘Vaxxers’: The inside story of AstraZeneca

    Usually a vaccine takes 5-10 years from conception to production and injection into people’s arms. Vaxxers, writes Coral Wynter, describes how a safe vaccine against COVID-19 was produced in only 10 months. 

    This post was originally published on Green Left.

  • Accenture to digitise incoming passenger cards, add vaccine status

    Irish multinational Accenture has been selected to digitise Australia’s incoming passenger declaration forms, which will collect COVID-19 vaccination status. The Department of Home Affairs went to market late last year for a private provider to deliver it a so-called “permissions capability”, which was intended to initially handle visa processing and passenger declaration cards and eventually…

    The post Accenture to digitise incoming passenger cards, add vaccine status appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Australia finally backs COVID-19 vaccine IP waiver

    Australia will officially back the scrapping of COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rules to assist developing nations in accessing cheaper vaccines following months of campaigning and protests against the federal government’s stance. Led by India and South Africa, there has been a push this year for a waiver of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects…

    The post Australia finally backs COVID-19 vaccine IP waiver appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Larger risk of hospital admission with Delta variant, study suggests

    People infected with the Delta variant of coronavirus (Covid-19) carry twice the risk of needing hospital treatment than those with the Alpha strain, a study has suggested.

    Researchers looked at more than 43,000 cases in England between March and May. The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has published their findings.

    Nearly three-quarters of coronavirus cases in the study were in people who were unvaccinated. Only 1.8% were those who had received both inoculations.

    More than double the risk with Delta

    The study said around one in 50 patients were admitted to hospital within two weeks of their first positive test. That’s 2.3% of Delta cases and 2.2% of those with the Alpha variant.

    Researchers then adjusted these figures to take into account other factors. These included someone’s age, ethnicity and vaccination status. And they determined that the risk of hospital admission more than doubled with the Delta variant compared with Alpha.

    Dr Gavin Dabrera is one of the study’s lead authors. He’s a consultant epidemiologist at Public Health England’s National Infection Service. He said:

    This study confirms previous findings that people infected with Delta are significantly more likely to require hospitalisation than those with Alpha, although most cases included in the analysis were unvaccinated.

    We already know that vaccination offers excellent protection against Delta and as this variant accounts for over 98% of Covid-19 cases in the UK, it is vital that those who have not received two doses of vaccine do so as soon as possible.

    It is still important that if you have Covid-19 symptoms, stay home and get a PCR test as soon as possible.

    Vaccines work

    Moreover, the authors said it’s not possible to draw conclusions about risk among vaccinated patients who go on to develop infections. And studies have shown a link between vaccination and prevention of serious illness from coronavirus.

    Dr Anne Presanis, one of the study’s lead authors and senior statistician at Cambridge University’s MRC Biostatistics Unit, said:

    Our analysis highlights that in the absence of vaccination, any Delta outbreaks will impose a greater burden on healthcare than an Alpha epidemic.

    Getting fully vaccinated is crucial for reducing an individual’s risk of symptomatic infection with Delta in the first place, and, importantly, of reducing a Delta patient’s risk of severe illness and hospital admission.

    UK government data shows 88.2% of people aged 16 and over have had at least one dose of a vaccine. And 90.2 million doses have been given overall.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • ANAO to scrutinise Australia’s vaccine rollout

    The national audit office will put a spotlight on Australia’s troubled vaccine rollout, with an inquiry to report back early next year.

    The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has launched an audit into the vaccine rollout, which has been plagued by delays, supply issues and concerns around a reliance on labour hire and private consultants.

    The ANAO will accept submissions on the issues until 30 January 2022, and is expected to table its report in April next year.

    “The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the planning and implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,” the ANAO said.

    The national audit office will examine Australia’s troubled vaccine rollout and provide a report early next year

    Australia’s vaccine rollout began in February. More than 10.5 million people have had at least one dose and more than 6 million people are fully vaccinated. The federal government initially planned for all Australians to have received both doses by October, but has since revised the target.

    The audit will specifically be looking at whether the vaccine rollout has been effectively planned, if effective governance arrangements have been established to manage it and if the rollout has been effectively implemented.

    The audit will likely look in-depth at Department of Health decisions around vaccine supply and sourcing, along with eligibility criteria and advice to individuals on receiving the vaccine.

    It will also cover the Department of Health’s use of private consultants to assist with the vaccine rollout.

    On Christmas Eve last year the Department announced that multinational consultancies PwC and Accenture had received significant contracts to assist with the vaccine rollout.

    PwC is being paid nearly $1 million each month this year as part of its role as the program delivery partner for the vaccine rollout, under a contract kept secret until this month, despite it being signed nine months ago.

    PwC’s role in the vaccine rollout and what it has delivered remain largely unclear, as is how the consultancy is working with the vaccine taskforce stumped up recently by the federal government.

    Accenture has received nearly $20 million from the Department of Health for data and software solutions in relation to the vaccine rollout. There are ongoing concerns about the level of data available on the vaccine rollout, and how this is being communicated to the public.

    Fellow big four consultancy McKinsey was also paid nearly $2 million late last year to assist with the vaccine rollout, but this contract was also kept secret for several months.

    McKinsey has also received more than $4 million to assist the Industry Department in its attempt to launch a local mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability.

    The Department went to the market for such a facility in October last year, but is still yet to announce a successful bidder.

    The public sector union has also criticised the Department of Health’s use of labour hire throughout the pandemic. As of the end of 2020, more than 15 per cent of the Department’s workforce was made up of labour hire, with 22 per cent of its salary budget being spent on contractors and consultants.

    This means the Department is not building the necessary internal capability to respond to future crises, the Community and Public Sector Union has said.

    The post ANAO to scrutinise Australia’s vaccine rollout appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Victoria bids for federal govt mRNA funding

    The Victorian government has made a number of submissions to the federal government’s approach to market for a local mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability, with several other states also vying for Commonwealth support.

    The federal Industry department opened an expression of interest process for the establishment of an end-to-end local mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability, calling for fully-costed blueprints.

    The tender closed this month and the government is understood to have received about 12 submissions. These submissions include from big players like CSL, startups such as Servatus, as well as a number of state government-backed consortia.

    InnovationAus understands that the Victorian government has backed a number of different proposals made through the Commonwealth approach to market.

    Jaala Pulford
    Victorian innovation minister Jaala Pulford

    These include a joint project between the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Doherty Institute, which is set to make Australia’s first local mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate to reach Phase 1 clinical trials by October.

    The Victorian government has already contributed $5 million for these trials out of its $50 million mRNA fund, and is now looking for further support from the federal government.

    CSL is based in Melbourne and the Victorian government has also likely thrown its support behind the biotech giant’s bid. The company is already manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine in its Melbourne facility.

    Australian pharmaceutical firm IDT is understood to also be in discussions with the Victorian government to locally manufacture an mRNA vaccine.

    While the federal government has set a three-year deadline for mRNA vaccine deadline, the Victorian government is aiming to ensure the state can do this within 12 months.

    “Victoria is clearly the best place to rapidly scale up for mRNA manufacturing in Australia, given the outstanding expertise and infrastructure that exists here,” Victorian innovation minister Jaala Pulford said.

    “We’re the home of Australia’s biotech community and the leading state in Australia for mRNA research, as shown by the recent progression of our local vaccine candidate to Phase One clinical trials. We look forward to working collaboratively with the Commonwealth to establish onshore mRNA manufacturing capability in Victoria.”

    The Queensland government also confirmed that it was one of the submitters to the federal government’s approach to market, saying it is in negotiations with multiple leading vaccine manufacturers internationally along with local firms.

    The New South Wales government has also talked up its potential for mRNA manufacturing and was likely one of the other bidders. The NSW Premier has previously said she wants to make the state the “home” of Australian mRNA vaccine manufacturing.

    South Australian biotech firm BioCina is understood to have also made a submission involving its Adelaide facility. Brisbane-based Luina Bio has also been reported as making a bid for the federal government support.

    Aside from the approach to market, the federal government is in ongoing discussions with mRNA global giant Moderna for the establishment of a local capability. Tender documents confirm that it is possible that no funding will come from the process, and the federal government may opt to sign a contract outside of it.

    The government has kept hidden how much money it has allocated for the manufacturing capability, and has also declined to reveal a business case it commissioned from McKinsey for $2.2 million.

    McKinsey was also paid a further $2 million to assist with the approach to market, while an advisory board has been established but its members have not been revealed.

    The post Victoria bids for federal govt mRNA funding appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • People rallied together to give the perfect response to anti-NHS ignorance

    On Saturday 24 July, anti-vaxxer and anti-lockdown protesters gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square. Yes, peaceful protest is everyone’s right. But life-threatening comments, comparing NHS staff to Nazis, are not. And calling such remarks “utterly appalling” or depraved doesn’t even cover it. Because no amount of condemnation is enough.

    However, an outpouring of support for NHS staff was the ideal way to respond to such hate.

    And it was overwhelming…

    At Saturday’s rally, disgraced nurse Kate Shemirani made hate-filled comments about NHS staff. Shemirani has been struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council register because she:

    attempted to encourage people to act contrary to public health guidance issued by the UK government by spreading this information through social media platforms and at public events.

    She bellowed (with a certain 1930s tone in her voice):

    Ask those that are giving it (the vaccine), has there been any deaths? Ask them what is in it. Ask them, get their names, you email them to me … with a group of lawyers we are collating all that.

    At the Nuremberg trials, the doctors and nurses stood trial, and they hung.

    Footage of Shemirani’s rant began to circulate on social media. But a combination of shock and support motivated people to get behind the heroes of the pandemic:

    That old chestnut

    As can happen when you engage in a discussion with coronavirus (Covid-19) deniers, you’re often left dumb-founded by their response. And one question you often hear is ‘do you know anybody who has died from it?’.

    Well, this doctoral researcher came up with the ideal response. She tweeted:

    This is on the government

    As reported by The Canary, this government has treated NHS staff disgracefully. The derisory 3% pay increase demonstrates that perfectly. And instead of supporting the NHS and its staff, it appears the Tories want to sell it off.

    There is without doubt a large number of people attending anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination rallies. But attendance isn’t necessarily an endorsement of all the ludicrous claims from the vocally ignorant who take centre stage. Also, perhaps government and mainstream media played a part in the fuelling of such claims.

    It’s more likely that these large numbers are a reflection of an inept Tory response to the pandemic. And it’s a callous response that puts profit before people. So rather than spreading hate and unfounded conspiracy theories, maybe the conspiracy merchants could focus on the government’s failures. And maybe for once, the government could take responsibility for its neglect of the NHS and disrespect of its staff.

    Featured image via Flickr – NHS Employers & Screengrab – Independent

    By Peadar O'Cearnaigh

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Accenture gets another $6m for vaccine rollout work

    Accenture has been given a further $6 million to continue work on its COVID-19 vaccine ordering platform as the federal government readies for a significant expansion, with the Irish-domiciled consulting giant now paid $20 million for work on the rollout.

    The Department of Health awarded Accenture a contract amendment worth $6.3 million this month for its work on the vaccine ordering system, which it has provided to the government for several years.

    The company will now be paid $13.3 million in total to make “modest enhancements” to this platform to accommodate for the COVID-19 vaccine.

    Accenture was also paid $8 million to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine data solution, which was delivered to the government in February.

    Accenture has won a further $6m for its COVID-19 vaccine rollout work

    The current contract is for “vaccine data solution enhancements and support”, and involves further developments to the ordering solution that Accenture has provided to the federal government for several years.

    “This data solution requires modest enhancements to keep pace with developments in the vaccine rollout. The ordering solution requires several changes, recognising the difference between ordinary vaccine distribution compared to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, such as the staged expansion of the program through phases,” a Department of Health spokesperson told InnovationAus.

    “This work will continue as more points of presence such as pharmacies are included, as well as the major expansion of the rollout with increased supply in quarter four. The contract extends the work to develop and enhance these systems, along with support arrangements to ensure the systems remain stable.”

    With the amendment, the contract now runs from the end of May to 22 October.

    Accenture was appointed as the federal government’s digital and data lead for the vaccine rollout late last year. It was awarded an $8 million contract to develop a software solution to track the vaccine from arrival to injection, providing “point in time” visibility of doses across the supply chain.

    The Irish-domiciled consultancy has now been paid more than $21 million for its work on the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

    Accenture was also recently awarded a $3.1 million pay rise from the ATO for the “provision of strategic support services”, bringing the contract to a total of $7.4 million from July 2020 to December this year.

    A spokesperson for the ATO said this contract is for support for the tax office’s Secure Internet Gateway program.

    Last year was a significant one for Accenture, which saw the size of its contracts with the federal government jump by 15 per cent during the pandemic.

    The overall value of the contracts awarded to Accenture in 2020 was $786.4 million, with the bulk of these coming from the ATO. The consultancy landed two contracts late last year each worth more than $40 million, and also won a $14 million contract earlier this year for work on the digital identity scheme.

    The ATO also recently awarded Boston Consulting Group (BCG) a $2 million contract over four months for the “provision of computer services”. BCG will be paid $500,000 per month for this work, with an ATO spokesperson saying it relates to the ATO’s modernisation program.

    “The contract with BCG is for them, in partnership with the ATO, to develop and document a strategy, roadmap and business case for the modernising ATO IT systems program of work,” the spokesperson told InnovationAus.

    “This program will play a key role in reshaping the ATO’s technology landscape to deliver on the ATO’s strategic initiatives.”

    The post Accenture gets another $6m for vaccine rollout work appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Victoria leads as states vie for mRNA facility

    Victoria will conduct the first clinical trial of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in Australia as the state looks to partner with the federal government to establish a national manufacturing capability.

    On Sunday the Victorian government announced that its partnership with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Doherty Institute has developed and will make the country’s first local mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate to reach Phase 1 clinical trials, which are expected to start in October.

    The Victorian government will provide $5 million for the trials, the first funding to be invested from the $50 million set aside in this year’s state budget for a local mRNA capability.

    It will also look to gain federal funding and support through the Commonwealth’s current approach to market for parties looking to establish an onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability.

    InnovationAus understands that the state government has not yet made a submission to this approach to market, but will be doing so in the next month before it closes.

    “We’re serious about developing our mRNA manufacturing capacity and doing it as quickly as we can, because it will save lives,” Victorian innovation minister Jaala Pulford said.

    Jaala Pulford
    Victorian innovation minister Jaala Pulford

    The Monash project has already received $3 million from the federal government for Phase 1 from the Medical Research Future Fund. The latest clinical trial will see 150 people involved, with preliminary results expected in the first half of next year.

    Monash University Professor of Pharmaceutical Biology Colin Pouton welcomed the funding announcement.

    “The investment by the Victorian government into establishing Victoria’s mRNA manufacturing capability presents exciting opportunities to develop life-saving vaccines and therapeutic treatments for all Australians,” Professor Pouton said.

    The development of mRNA vaccines locally in Australia has been in the spotlight since last year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The federal government has shown interest in becoming a partner in such a project, opening an approach to market last year for a private company or state government to deliver a long-term sovereign mRNA manufacturing capability, an end-to-end onshore capability in Australia.

    This process is open until 16 July, and it’s understood the Victorian government will be making a submission through it for its Monash project.

    It offers an alternative to a local manufacturer using the intellectual property from an existing mRNA vaccine, such as from Pfizer or Moderna, and then making it locally.

    Competition is heating up between state governments on where Australia’s mRNA manufacturing capability will be located, and there’s a prospect there will be multiple facilities

    The University of Queensland earlier this year received $2.2 million in funding, to be matched by the university, for a facility to quickly develop and test mRNA vaccines.

    New South Wales has also thrown its hat into the ring, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian declaring an interest in making the state the “home” of mRNA manufacturing in Australia.

    “NSW is well placed to provide the advanced manufacturing workforce training, the scientific expertise and the physical location of a future RNA-based manufacturing hub. The state has an established advanced manufacturing capability and is well placed to be the home of mRNA manufacturing in Australia,” Ms Berejiklian said in May.

    The federal government provided funding in the May budget for the establishment of a local mRNA manufacturing capability, but did not disclose how much was set aside due to commercial-in-confidence reasons.

    Late last year the Commonwealth paid consulting giant McKinsey $2.2 million to develop a business case on the local manufacturing of mRNA vaccines. This report will not be made public, and has not been provided to those applying for the government’s project.

    McKinsey has been paid a further $2.1 million to assist with this approach to market process, which is ongoing.

    The post Victoria leads as states vie for mRNA facility appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Calls mount for Australia to agree to COVID-19 patent waiver

    Civil society organisations are calling on the government to join the growing number of countries supporting a patent waiver on the COVID-19 vaccine, reports Jim McIlroy.

    This post was originally published on Green Left.

  • Boris Johnson urged to share coronavirus vaccine with poorer nations instead of hoarding supplies

    Boris Johnson is facing calls to immediately begin donating vaccines to poorer nations. He otherwise risks hoarding supplies while frontline workers are exposed to coronavirus (Covid-19).

    Health and development charities urged the prime minister on Sunday 28 March to take “accelerated action”. And they asked him to “swiftly clarify” how doses will be shared.

    Wellcome, led by Sage scientist Sir Jeremy Farrar, and Save the Children UK were among those making the demand in a letter to Johnson.

    “Hoarding limited supply”

    They say the UK is “one of the world’s highest per-capita buyers” of vaccines. And it’s on track to have more than 100 million surplus doses.

    The letter reads:

    There is therefore the high risk that the UK will be hoarding limited supply whilst health workers and the most vulnerable in low and middle-income countries do not have access…

    The UK will be sitting on enough surplus vaccine doses to vaccinate the world’s frontline health workers twice over.

    The Covax initiative

    They are urging Britain to immediately begin donating doses through the Covax initiative. This is working to provide vaccines for low and middle-income countries.

    Farrar said the UK will still have contractual access to at least 100 million surplus doses once the entire population is vaccinated. He said these doses “won’t be of use in the UK”.

    The government responded that it will share “the majority of any future surplus” vaccines with the Covax pool “when these are available”.

    “Now is the time to think beyond our borders”

    The experts’ case is not just a moral one – Farrar pointed out:

    If left to spread, [the virus] risks mutating to an extent where our vaccines and treatments no longer work. This goes beyond ethics – it’s a scientific and economic imperative. Science has given us the exit strategy. We must use it properly.

    Adults who have received Covid-19 vaccine
    (PA Graphics)

    Anti-poverty campaigns One and Global Citizen also signed the letter, as did the Results UK charity and the Pandemic Action Network.

    Farrar said:

    Now is the time to think beyond our borders. The world won’t be safe while any single country is still fighting the virus

    The letter also points to research suggesting that vaccine nationalism and the unequal distribution of jabs could cost the UK £106bn.

    Government response

    A UK government spokesperson said:

    The UK has played a leading role in championing global access to coronavirus vaccines. This includes contributing £548 million, as one of the largest donors, to the Covax Advance Market Commitment, which has already helped 20 lower-middle countries to receive doses.

    The Prime Minister has confirmed the UK will share the majority of any future surplus coronavirus vaccines from our supply with the Covax pool, when these are available. No one is safe until we are all safe.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.