MP SPEAKS | PM must call for IP waiver to prevent vaccine monopoly

MP SPEAKS | There are just too many words floating around in the “vaccine war” - intellectual property rights, vaccine diplomacy, vaccine inequities, profits, unlocking vaccine production, corporate power blocking fair access, and the list goes on.

But one thing is certain - the monopoly of Covid-19 vaccine production by big pharmaceuticals and bargaining power by rich countries have resulted in pitting global citizens and countries against each other.

And in Malaysia, it has resulted in a low vaccine rollout, where those who have registered are still waiting for an appointment to roll up their sleeves at government-approved medical facilities.

According to news reports, rich countries that represent just 16 percent of the world’s population, have secured 60 percent of the leading vaccines.

This brought about a sharp retort from World Health Organisation (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for these nations have enough to vaccinate their entire populations almost three times over.

In Malaysia, it translates to about 5.9 percent of the population, where 1.9 million people have received a minimum of one jab of the available vaccines.

It’s really time for us to understand the vaccine war that’s happening between the World Health Organisation’s Covax, that aims at collaboration between countries to procure and distribute vaccines equitably, against big pharmaceuticals and even US President Joe Biden, is very real and affects us at a personal level.

While Biden has shifted his stance to throw his support behind a temporary International Property Rights waiver, big pharmaceuticals are going for his jugular.

And Pfizer’s boss has pooh-poohed WHO’s Covid-19 Technology Access Pool, which was launched last year to facilitate the sharing of technological know-how and intellectual property rights with other companies and governments.

The irony of it is that while the pharmaceutical industry has managed to write its monopoly rules into the Trade Related Aspects of International Property Rights (Trips), forcing compliance from every country, the funds for vaccine development come from the public.

But the bargaining power of countries with deep pockets and the industry's penchant for selling to the highest bidder has resulted in a low-risk British citizen getting the first rollout of vaccines compared to a senior citizen with high co-morbidities in Kuala Lumpur.

This is not just criminal but it’s a crime against humanity.

We are experiencing moral bankruptcy as profits continue to determine where vaccines are shipped despite raging infections, death, and deprivation in poorer countries.

Malaysia is seeing thousands of cases every day but it’s as if we are less of a human.

And according to Khairy Jamaluddin (National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister), our third phase of vaccination may be delayed.

He says this isn’t due to government inefficiency, but “pharmaceutical companies which were prioritising rich countries.”

Ironically, however, we haven’t heard a whimper from Malaysia about supporting an exemption from the World Trade Organisation intellectual property rules protecting vaccine production.

This waiver would allow governments, including Malaysia, to authorise the production of patented vaccines without the consent of pharmaceutical companies holding the patent.

We can also bypass the monopoly of companies holding intellectual property rights and produce generic vaccines and other technologies that can fight Covid-19.

On the ground, this would mean our vaccination schedules can run smoothly.

This is where I would like to see some leadership from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He cannot treat this issue the way he approached the announcement of the third lockdown - via a pdf.

More than 120 countries are supporting the waiver, with Indonesia, Spain, and even China being the latest.

We need to hear Malaysia’s voice now.

CHARLES SANTIAGO is Klang MP.

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