Could Spilling Big Pharma’s Secrets Vaccinate the World?

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.2 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2021

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Just 12.5 percent of the world has been inoculated against Covid-19. To protect every country from the pandemic, regardless of economic level, there are many approaches global leaders could take. But they have to act fast. In this state of planetary emergency, should pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines be forced to break their patents? Is that the best or fastest way to get lower-income countries to catch up with vaccination rates? Weighing the pros and cons of a vaccine intellectual property waiver with Jane Coaston this week is Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, and Tahir Amin, a co-founder and co-executive director of I-MAK, the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today on the argument, what's the best way to vaccinate the world?
0:07.0	The international charity doctors without borders is urging rich countries to take steps
0:14.5	to allow more coronavirus vaccines to be produced right around the world.
0:19.1	Now intellectual property rights prevent other countries from making domestic versions of
0:24.0	vaccines, but waving these rights would allow developing nations to produce vaccines without
0:28.6	fear of reprisal.
0:29.6	The White House now says that it supports waving the intellectual property protections for
0:34.8	the COVID-19 vaccine.
0:36.6	We need to help fight the disease around the world to keep us safe here at home and to
0:41.2	do the right thing of helping other people.
0:43.3	It's the right thing to do.
0:46.2	Only about 10% of the world is vaccinated right now from COVID-19.
0:50.7	And COVID cases are on the rise in places like Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa.
0:56.5	Because of this recording, 85% of shots given out have been in high and upper middle-income
1:01.6	countries, which brings me to one potential solution making headlines, waving patent
1:07.1	protections for COVID vaccines.
1:10.1	Patents are a huge part of how pharmaceutical companies work.
1:14.0	They spend big to develop a new medicine or vaccine on the patent and can charge a lot,
1:19.6	see the high cost of drugs for cancer or rheumatoid arthritis.
1:24.1	But in a global health crisis, why not make a life-saving vaccine as successful as possible,
1:29.1	even if it cuts in the profits?
1:31.0	A waver today could set a precedent for future drugs and vaccines to be ruled out faster
	...

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