🔒 Closed Coronavirus vaccine should be 'free of charge for all'

[sirkethy]

Coronavirus vaccine should be 'free of charge for all'
Over 140 past and present world leaders sign letter saying vaccine should not be patented, science should be shared.
14 May 2020

The letter says it is not the time to leave the task of resolving the pandemic to market forces [File: Ted S Warren/AP]


Past and present world leaders have urged that any eventual COVID-19 vaccines and treatments should be made available to everyone free of charge.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among more than 140 signatories of a letter saying vaccine should not be patented while the science should be shared among nations.

The World Health Assembly (WHA), the policy-setting body of the World Health Organization, holds its annual general meeting next week.
The signatories called on the WHA to rally behind the cause.
"Governments and international partners must unite around a global guarantee which ensures that, when a safe and effective vaccine is developed, it is produced rapidly at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge," the letter said.
"The same applies for all treatments, diagnostics, and other technologies for COVID-19."
The letter was also signed by Senegalese President Macky Sall and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Former presidents and prime ministers among the signatories included Shaukat Aziz, Jan Peter Balkenende, Jose Manuel Barroso, Gordon Brown, Helen Clark, Felipe Gonzalez, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Mary McAleese, Olusegun Obasanjo and Juan Manuel Santos.
The letter comes amid fury in France after pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said it would reserve first shipments of any COVID-19 vaccine for the United States.
The French multinational company's chief executive Paul Hudson said the US would get first dibs because its government was helping to fund the vaccine research.

His comments drew outrage on Thursday from officials and health experts.
African Union Chairperson Ramaphosa said: "As the countries of Africa, we are resolute that the COVID-19 vaccine must be patent-free, rapidly made and distributed, and free for all.
"Nobody should be pushed to the back of the vaccine queue because of where they live or what they earn."

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[cristoph]

sagot yata ng gobyerno ang vaccine pero yung all treatments, diagnostics, and other technologies for COVID-19 questionable pa siguro pero sana sagot na nila lahat.

 

[Ben Beckmann]

Sna nga free

 

[PHC_Gulai23]

I think so too, pero I think the govt still has to offer something in return for the vaccine. Everyone needs it, but some only deserves it. Yan kasi ang problema, everyone is panicking pero the basic safety measures that the govt implemented still doesn't work kasi matitigas yung ulo ng mga tao. I am from Negros Oriental and we only have 4 positive cases here (2 recovered , 2 died) The cases was last recorded in the month of march, and until now we are covid free. It is about how you impose the law, our gov. here is really strict and doesn't like anyone to go out and if you're caught doing so, magbabayad ka ng fine. Look at CEBU now, only 1 case positive in the very beginning but since the people didn't listen, they all got infected, and the whole brgy was infected. They did not impose the law strictly. I hope this vaccine is free and I hope the people who got infected and will be infected knows what the consequence when you do not abide the law of man. God bless philippines.

 

[Hattori Hanzo]

If the vaccine is free for everybody then who will shoulder the research and development costs, testing costs and manufacturing costs?

 

[PHC_Gulai23]

I think the vaccine itself is free and mas produce nalang within each country, in our case parang di kaya kasi we are behind from the race. Vaccine should be free but but making them is not.

 

[Delta India Charlie Kilo]

Depende yan sa decision nang may ari nang patent which is mga big pharma, cguro hindi yan magiging free pero sa tingin ko magiging affordable naman.