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GENEVA – Past and present world leaders insisted on Thursday that any possible COVID-19 vaccine and treatment should be available to everyone free of charge.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among more than 140 signatories to a letter saying that no vaccine should be patented, while science should be shared among nations.
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African Union President Ramaphosa said: “As African countries, we are determined that the COVID-19 vaccine must be free of patents, rapidly manufactured and distributed, and free for all.
“No one should be pushed to the tail end of the vaccine because of where they live or what they earn.”
The World Health Assembly (WHA), the policy-making body of the UN World Health Organization, holds its annual general meeting next week.
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The signatories asked WHA to join behind the cause.
“Governments and international partners must come together around a global guarantee that ensures that when a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it is produced quickly at scale and made available to all, in all countries, in a comprehensive manner. free, “says the letter.
“The same applies to all treatments, diagnostics, and other technologies for COVID-19.”
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The letter comes amid fury in France after pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said it would reserve the first shipments of any COVID-19 vaccine for the United States.
French multinational chief executive Paul Hudson said the United States would get the first dib because its government was helping to fund vaccine research.
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His comments sparked outrage from officials and health experts.
The letter before WHA said that this was not the time to leave the task of solving the pandemic to market forces or to let the interests of wealthy companies and governments come before the need to save lives.
