Covid-19 survivors call on industry for a 'people's vaccine'

Almost 1,000 survivors of Covid-19 have signed an open letter calling on the pharmaceutical industry to produce a ‘people’s vaccine’ and treatments that are available to all – free from patients.

The open letter, signed by survivors of the virus, people who have lost relatives to Covid-19, and those with underlying health conditions, calls out the pharmaceutical industry for “carrying on with business as usual – defending monopolies while refusing to share research and know-how.”

It asks industry leaders to “ensure Covid-19 vaccines and treatments reach everyone who needs them by preventing monopolies, ramping up production and sharing knowledge.”  

 Some of us have lost loved ones to this killer disease. Some of us have come close to death ourselves. Some of us are continuing to live in fear that contracting this disease would be fatal for us. We see no justification why your profit or monopolies should mean anyone else should go through this,” the letter reads.  

The letter was organised by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a global organisation campaigning for a Covid-19 vaccine that is based on shared knowledge and is freely available to everyone.

Signatories of the letter argue that pharmaceutical monopolies – in which patents ensure drug companies have market exclusivity for a certain number of years - restrict the production of effective vaccines and treatments to a small number of manufacturers. In turn, this prevents mass production of drugs to meet global demand.

The letter demands that corporations immediately license vaccine technology and intellectual property rights to the WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). 

One of the signatories, Dilafruz Gafurova, 43, from Tajikistan, said: “Me and my husband got sick with this disease. We could only rely on ourselves as hospitals were full … It was really difficult to get the right medicines. I am a mother of four children … I was afraid to leave them alone in this world if something bad could happen with me … The reason I am signing this letter is to help others to get [a] vaccine. Not all the people around the world can get this vaccine, as they simply cannot afford it. They hardly [have enough to meet] their daily needs.” 

The letter comes as the UN General Assembly meets to discuss access to vaccines. It also follows an analysis by Oxfam that revealed how wealthy nations representing 13% of the world’s population have already bought up just over half of the future doses of leading Covid-19 vaccine candidates.  

Heidi Chow from Global Justice Now, a member of the People’s Vaccine Alliance said: “Pharmaceutical companies need to pay attention to the demands of people from around the world who have experienced the fear and devastation of COVID-19. The industry cannot block its ears to these voices but should respond immediately by ending their monopolies and commit to sharing manufacturing know-how. These actions are crucial to expand vaccine supplies so that all countries can affordably access effective vaccines.” 

Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said: "With AIDS we saw that when treatments were found the wealthier people in wealthier countries got back to health, while millions of people in developing countries were left to die. We must not repeat the same mistake when a vaccine for COVID-19 is found. The right to health is a human right—it should not depend on the money in your pocket or the colour of your skin to be vaccinated against this deadly virus. A vaccine should be a global public good and free of charge for all." 

The People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on governments to make public funding for research and development of Covid-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments conditional on pharmaceutical companies sharing their knowledge and technology free from patents. When an effective vaccine is available, the Alliance demands that doses are fairly distributed with priority given to health workers and other at-risk groups in all countries.