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Let's be clear. I support @POTUS and think he's done a good job thus far as president, EXCEPT on global #COVID19 vaccine access. 1/
We have several potent, safe vaccines against #SARSCoV2 now. It's really miraculous. Didn't think we'd be here with these choices now. But for billions around the world, these miracles are just something to read about. They will not get vaccinated anytime soon. 2/
What we have here in market failure. Straight up. Americans invested in these vaccines, directly through last year's billions of dollars to the companies, the support over the years to the research at NIH that made them possible. 3/
Yet, the companies are in the driver's seat deciding who lives and who dies now. While the public invested in these vaccines and the science behind them, it is the market that is in charge now of access to them. 4/
What's going on here? As @JInterlandi from the @NYTimes has said: "It’s not an IP issue or a manufacturing capacity issue, or a technology transfer issue. It is all of those things at once." 5/
We could scale-up global production of vaccines we have now, w/ a coordinated plan w/ pooling of resources inc. intellectual property, the commodities required for the vaccines, starting tech transfer and subsidizing of manufacturing capacity in the global South. 6/
Meanwhile, the US, the UK, the EU sit on their hands as COVAX suggests that perhaps ~25% of people in poor countries will see vaccines this year if they're lucky. 7/
It's untenable and inhumane. 8/
Industry is BS-ing us saying, hey it's not about IP, we won't enforce our patents no, well, guess what? Production is encumbered by patents you don't own, what company in India, South Africa wants to set up production now only to have you grab back rights you do own in 2 yrs? 9/
Multiple versions of the way forward have been out there for months now. Here. 10/ https://www.prep4all.org/news/hit-hard-hit-fast-hit-globally
Hundreds of world leaders, Nobel laureates are behind the call for #PeoplesVaccine. 12/ https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2021/april/20210414_letter-waive-intellectual-property-rules-COVID-vaccines
Mr. President. @POTUS. @JoeBiden. We will look back on this era and see who did the right thing. Right now, you are perilously close to being on the wrong side of history. People are dying. You have the power to make a difference. end/
