End Covid 'Apartheid'. Support a TRIPS Waiver!
The world’s poorest are being denied access to lifesaving treatment and vaccines. People across the Global South are dying from Covid-19, a virus that we can only tackle by making access to vaccines, tests and treatments equitable and accessible. This is a vaccine ‘apartheid’.
The UK government has said repeatedly that ‘no one is safe until we are all safe.’ However, much like its ‘we’re all in this together’ rhetoric on addressing the climate crisis, so far, its words run contrary to its actions. Rather than helping to end this global pandemic, the UK government has backed big business by blocking the crucial TRIPS waiver – a game-changing proposal at the World Trade Organisation, which would lift the patents on vaccines (and other medical technologies), removing a huge barrier preventing poorer countries from protecting their citizens.
Despite the fact that much of the research into Covid-19 vaccines and treatment is funded by taxpayers, vaccines have become the private property of big pharmaceutical companies who want to make a profit from the pandemic.
Take action! Call on the UK government to put people’s health before profit.
