Today, join the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) and other organizations by calling on White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients to support policies that promote global access to vaccines and vaccine intellectual property that would save lives and stop COVID-19 from spreading further. Read the July 23, 2021 coalition letter to President Biden. No one is safe if COVID-19 is anywhere in the world.
The World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement that deals with intellectual property rights and trade. TRIPS waivers would allow nations access to some intellectual property for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations around the world. Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are the protected intellectual property of a small number of pharmaceutical companies which prohibits other nations and other companies from accessing production information. This hinders the global supply of these vaccines since vaccine production is limited to the production capacities of these pharmaceutical companies patent owners.
Watch the video from the Interfaith Vigil for Vaccine Access on the National Mall in front of the United State Capitol.
We also encourage you to join thousands of others by signing a coalition petition that will be given to Mr. Zients.
Thank you for speaking out! Please help spread the word.