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The US & EU said they would consider waving the intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines. Here's a thread about that:
1.there currently are 3 major types of vaccine available: mRNA (BioNTech,Moderna), viral vector (AstraZeneca,J&J), inactivated virus (Sinopharm)
1.there currently are 3 major types of vaccine available: mRNA (BioNTech,Moderna), viral vector (AstraZeneca,J&J), inactivated virus (Sinopharm)
2. India, China and Russia are huge exporters of vaccines to the whole world. And the West is not hoarding vaccines - only the the U.S. was sitting on AstraZeneca doses, which it now said it would pass on to other nations. Vaccine makers produce as many vaccines as they can atm.
3. The most popular western vaccines are @AstraZeneca-Oxford, and @BioNTech_Group - @pfizer. AstraZeneca *does not sell for profit*. Germany's BioNTech owns the vax IP; it took many months for Pfizer, a giant, to learn how to make BioNTech's vaccine & then manufacture at scale
4. BioNTech is a German company, which now collaborates with over 30 pharma firms to make more vaccines. Yet Germany *has in no way been prioritized over other countries.* It's first come, first served. If Germany were to waive IP rights, would other countries get more doses?
5. @moderna_tx , the other mRNA vax producer, said it would not enforce patents during the pandemic. The mRNA technology is complex, expensive and reliant on very scarce raw materials https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-vows-to-not-enforce-covid-19-vaccine-patents-during-pandemic-11602154805
6. Alternative proposal: rich nations to subsidise manufacturing and provide doses to developing countries. https://twitter.com/bengoa_marta/status/1390206842274525184
7. Great vaccine exports chart via @jfkirkegaard. No one is hoarding; the US is racing to cover its own need, while the EU is selflessly exporting doses even though not even all priority groups have been vaccinated there. India is 3rd biggest exporter, despite what's happening
8. Angela Merkel’s government is opposing the US initiative to suspend Covid-19 vax patents:”Vaccine manufacturing is limited by production capacities and high quality standards, not patents” So high-tech shots can’t be made at the local soap factory https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bundesregierung-warnt-vor-patent-aussetzung-fuer-coronaimpfstoffe-a-50b0fa6f-3ec9-4d1c-b263-c7ee88dc935d
9. Germany's @jensspahn pushes back against US patent proposal: If US wants to increase vax supply, they should start exporting like the EU (Biden/Trump admins both pursued American vaccines for Americans policy). Patents are not the issue, manufacturing is.
10. BioNTech recruited major rivals to help mRNA vax production bc even partner Pfizer struggled to increase supply. They've been seeking new partners since last year & managed to triple production targets to 3bn doses in 2021. Wld patent waiver help? https://www.wsj.com/articles/biontech-recruits-rivals-to-boost-covid-19-vaccine-production-11615640401
11. France's Europe Minister: removing vax patents offers no short-term benefit. Allowing vax export does, yet the US exports nothing, while EU exports 50% of the vaccines it makes https://twitter.com/CBeaune/status/1390584733365678083?s=20
12. Good point about not letting governments off the hook by failing to discuss immediate action https://twitter.com/ChadBown/status/1391021817813512193
12. @derspiegel: The EU sees the US proposal for a Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver as "perfidious double moral standards" because the Trump/Biden administrations have "hindered global supply with unabashed nationalism." https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/biontech-und-curevac-wie-die-aufhebung-des-patentschutzes-deutsche-pharmafirmen-bedroht-a-86833b4f-0002-0001-0000-000177435518
