COVID-19: Pharmaceutical companies and rich states put lives at risk as vaccine inequality soars
- Amnesty launches global campaign calling for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines
- Rich countries have bought up over half the world’s vaccine supply, but represent just 16 per cent of the world’s population
- Pharmaceutical companies refuse to share knowledge and technology
The actions of pharmaceutical companies and rich countries mean that billions of people at risk of COVID-19 are unlikely to receive a single dose of the life-saving vaccines this year, Amnesty International said as it launched a new global campaign calling for universal access to vaccines.
The campaign – A Fair Shot: Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines – calls for pharmaceutical companies to share their knowledge and technology to maximize the number of doses of vaccines available around the globe. It also calls on states to stop engaging in ‘vaccine nationalism’ and work together to ensure that those most at-risk of COVID-19 in all countries can access life-saving COVID-19 vaccines immediately.
“Who gets access to a COVID-19 vaccine, when, and at what price, are some of the most significant and contested questions facing our societies today. But the answers are being shaped by the interests of powerful states and companies,” said Stephen Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International
“So far they’ve created a dangerous situation with global inequalities in vaccine access spiraling out of control. A few rich countries are racing ahead, while the rest of the world struggles to get off the starting line. Everyone deserves a fair shot at a vaccine — when it comes to our right to health, there’s no place for discrimination.”
Rich countries have bought up over half of the world’s vaccine supply, even though they represent just 16 per cent of the world’s population. The same countries have administered over 60% of the world’s doses so far, while over 100 countries are yet to vaccinate a single person.
“Nobody should be denied access to health care, including vaccines, because of where they live, who they are, or what they earn. With enough pressure on the right people, we can ensure COVID-19 vaccination systems guarantee human rights,” said Stephen Cockburn.
Sharing knowledge and technology
Billions of taxpayers’ money has been spent to help companies like AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech to develop and produce vaccines, yet these companies – and others – refuse to share their research, knowledge and technology. This means that other pharmaceutical companies cannot draw upon these advances in science to step up their own vaccine production, which would in turn increase supply, so they are accessible to countries with smaller budgets.
For example, in May 2020, the W so companies could pool data and knowledge, and then license production and technology transfer to other potential producers, with the aim of ensuring people everywhere could access vaccines quicker. Yet so far, not a single pharmaceutical company has joined C-TAP.
Governments must fulfill their human rights obligations and support a proposal to waive certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement, a global treaty governing intellectual property rights, which often restricts where, when and how medicines are produced. This waiver would lift the enforcement of patents and intellectual property protections that currently create obstacles for additional manufacturers to produce more COVID-19 vaccines. However, while it is supported by the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries, it is opposed by the wealthy ones.
As some states refuse to hold vaccine producers to account on their human rights responsibility to extend COVID-19 vaccine access to the maximum number of people, deep divides and inequalities between countries and communities have only become further exposed. And it’s those most at risk who are suffering as some countries and pharmaceutical companies continue to prioritize bilateral deals over ensuring that all people in every country have a fair shot at COVID-19 vaccines.
“As we mark the one-year anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot stand by and watch this tragedy unfold when we have solutions on the table,” said Tamaryn Nelson, Amnesty International’s Health Advisor. “Amid governments’ race to vaccinate their own populations entirely first and the pharmaceutical industry’s tight grip on its patents, we’re forgetting that people’s lives are at stake. No one is safe until we’re all safe.”
It’s time for pharmaceutical companies and states to fulfil their human rights responsibilities and obligations. Amnesty International is campaigning for companies, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, to share their knowledge and technology so that everyone in the world will have a fair shot at a vaccine. And states must step up by putting pressure on companies to do their part and work collectively to ensure those most at risk around the globe are vaccinated as soon as possible.
Notes to editors
See here for more information about C-TAP, a World Health Organization-run pool for voluntary licenses for COVID-19 products, which would enable other manufacturers to produce them, and its Solidarity call to realize equitable global access to COVID-19 health technologies through pooling of knowledge, intellectual property and data.
See here for more information about the TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.
All figures are based on analysis of data collected by Duke University and Our World In Data.
Mexican Cartels Overcome Pandemic Hurdles to Remain Greatest Criminal Drug Threat to U.S.
Mexican cartels adjusted to restrictions imposed by the global pandemic last year to smuggle huge amounts of narcotics into the U.S. and remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the country, expanding the market as methamphetamine deaths skyrocket. The government classifies them as Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) and in 2020 they flooded the nation with illicit drugs though a staggering 28,000 pounds of methamphetamine and millions of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl were seized by law enforcement agents. Bigger loads reached communities around the nation as deaths and seizures involving meth rise sharply and Mexican TCO’s increase the drug’s availability, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA).
The annual publication outlines the threats posed to the U.S. by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs, which is at an all-time high. The document also addresses money laundering of drug proceeds and the role of domestic groups, such as violent street gangs, that traffic drugs. “While the COVID-19 pandemic plagues this nation, so, too, do transnational criminal organizations and violent street gangs, adjusting to pandemic restrictions to flood our communities with dangerous drugs,” said DEA acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans in a statement announcing the report’s release. Evans was the agency’s chief of operations before taking over and last year was appointed by then Attorney General William Barr to a presidential commission charged with exploring issues affecting law enforcement. The DEA chief added that this year’s NDTA “shows the harsh reality of the drug threats facing communities across the United States.”
The U.S. saw a record number of drug overdose deaths last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which put the figure at more than 81,000. The agency says that synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl, appear to be the primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths. The DEA discloses that Mexican TCOs have established clandestine laboratories in Mexico for the synthesis of fentanyl, and Mexican authorities have encountered a rise in illegal fentanyl pill press and tableting operations. Mexican TCOs are also responsible for the production and trafficking across the Southwest Border (SWB) of the overwhelming majority of heroin available in the United States. Additionally, Mexican TCOs control most of the U.S. drug market and have established varied transportation routes, possess advanced communications capabilities, and hold strong affiliations with criminal groups and gangs in the U.S., the NDTA reveals.
The DEA names nine Mexican TCOs as having the greatest drug trafficking impact on the United States. Among them are the infamous Sinaloa and Juárez cartels, Los Zetas, La Familia Michoacána, Los Rojos and Guerreros Unidos. The TCOs maintain drug distribution cells in cities across the U.S. that report to leaders in Mexico and dominate the nation’s drug market. “The criminal activities of these organizations operating in the United States extend well beyond drug trafficking and have a profoundly negative impact on the safety and security of U.S. citizens,” the NDTA report states. “Their involvement in alien smuggling, firearms trafficking, and public corruption, coupled with the high levels of violence that result from these criminal endeavors, poses serious homeland security threats and public safety concerns.” Though they were temporarily challenged by disruptions associated with COVID-19, the Mexican criminal enterprises found new methods and used existing techniques to continue operating during the pandemic.
In a Homeland Threat Assessment issued just a few months ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) divulges that Mexican cartels pose the greatest threat to the U.S. because of their ability to control territory and co-opt parts of government, particularly at a state and local level. “They represent an acute and devastating threat to public health and safety in the Homeland and a significant threat to U.S. national security interests,” the DHS writes in the document.
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