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Nine out of 10 people in dozens of poor countries could lose the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19 next year because rich countries have accumulated far more doses than they need, activists said Wednesday.
Rich nations that are home to 14% of the world’s population had purchased 53% of the total stock of the most promising vaccines as of last month, said the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition that includes Oxfam, Amnesty International and Global Justice Now.
They said pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines should openly share their technology and intellectual property through the World Health Organization (WHO) so that more doses can be manufactured.
“This should not be a battle between countries to ensure sufficient doses,” Mohga Kamal-Yanni, an advisor to the People’s Vaccine Alliance, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“During these unprecedented times of a global pandemic, people’s lives and livelihoods must come before the profits of pharmaceutical companies,” he added.
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