Impact Reports

ARGUMENT : End the Pandemic Faster by Listening to Developing Countries Biden has a golden opportunity to help with global vaccines. BY ETHAN GUILLÉN | FEBRUARY 8, 2021, 1:51 PM ​ While rich countries are struggling to vaccinate their own populations as quickly as possible and are fighting over global distribution, people in the developing world face the prospect that COVID-19 vaccinations may still be years away. The Biden administration must take immediate steps to fix this problem and bring the pandemic under control while gaining a moral and diplomatic victory, or it will face a presidential term defined by a pandemic that will not end. ​ As of November 2020, 14 percent of the world’s population had bought up more than 50 percent of promised vaccine doses. By one best-case scenario, just 40 percent of doses might be left for the rest of the world at the end of 2021. This assumes rich countries don’t increase orders and that all of the vaccine production candidates are actually approved. ​ This clearly inadequate supply raises the obvious question: Why isn’t the developed world, especially the United States, doing more to help developing countries increase vaccine manufacturing capacity? Until everyone is safe, the United States is not safe, particularly in light of frightening mutations that may impact the effectiveness of current vaccines or increase the percentage of people needing to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. ​ ​ ​ "The Biden administration must rapidly support the TRIPS waiver so countries that have been left to fend for themselves can quickly move to manufacture technologies to save their people." ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Many experts reasonably predicted that a vaccine would take at least 18 months to develop. That the timeline has proved to be shorter is due in large part to the more than $12 billion U.S. taxpayer plan that sped vaccine development. Unfortunately, no requirements were put in place for public returns on this massive public investment—government agreements with manufacturers did not include provisions such as price ceilings or clauses to ensure equitable access around the globe. ​ Helping developing countries expand vaccine manufacturing capacity and access existing capacity are key areas where the Biden administration can assume a leadership role and are particularly important given the United States’ current tattered global reputation. And U.S. taxpayer investments give President Joe Biden incredible leverage. ​ For example, one of the taxpayer-funded vaccines uses new messenger RNA technology that will simplify production compared to traditional vaccines and make future needed changes to the vaccine easier to carry out. This vaccine, co-developed by Moderna and U.S. government scientists, provides 95 percent effectiveness in blocking COVID-19 symptoms. U.S. taxpayers (along with a small but important contribution from the musician Dolly Parton) funded nearly all of the $2.5 billion in development costs with heavy involvement from the National Institutes of Health. While the shot has come to be referred to as the “Moderna vaccine,” it should rightly be known as the “NIH vaccine.” And while pressure on Moderna has led to a pledge that it will not enforce patents around the globe during the pandemic, the pledge falls short of enabling middle- and low-income countries to manufacture the vaccine, as they would also need the “recipe,” generally called the “know-how,” to make use of the patents. ​ Many countries with fewer resources, particularly in Africa and Asia, have done remarkably well in their response—often due to years of collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which prepared them to address outbreaks even if the United States did not follow those prescriptions itself. After the United States had one of the worst responses in the world in terms of per capita infections and deaths, the Biden administration should proceed with humility, listening carefully to how developing countries have achieved success and what they are asking for in terms of assistance. ​ Many of these countries have signed on to COVAX , a World Health Organization-backed mechanism intended to ensure that even countries without purchase agreements can access vaccines and that offers subsidized prices for 92 developing countries . While the Biden administration has now joined COVAX , the effort is billions of dollars short of what it needs to provide vaccine doses in 2021. And even if fully funded, COVAX is not enough: Even in the best-case scenario, it will provide only 20 percent of needed doses, and it does not address the needs of upper-middle-income countries that face a huge disease burden and inadequate resources to vaccinate on their own. On top of this, there is a high chance that COVAX could fail , as noted by its own board, which would mean many people in developing countries might not even see a vaccine until 2024 at the earliest. ​ Increased support for COVAX is necessary, but additional measures are needed for developing countries to take on manufacturing themselves to reach the remaining 80 percent of their populations, specifically to provide vaccines and essentials such as treatments, diagnostics, and other medical countermeasures. ​ To address additional barriers to access, some countries have launched efforts beyond COVAX. South Africa and India, supported by Bolivia, Kenya, Eswatini, Mongolia, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Venezuela, are asking for a waiver from World Trade Organization requirements on patent rules, known as TRIPS, for vaccines, medicine, and other technologies needed to combat COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. If the waiver is approved, it would allow much greater flexibility in manufacturing patented inventions to fight the coronavirus. ​ Shockingly, the United States and European Union have stretched debate on the request for months, leaving developing countries out to dry while the COVID-19 death toll continues to climb, wasting precious time during which countries could be quickly building up manufacturing capacity to address the pandemic. The Biden administration must rapidly support the TRIPS waiver so countries that have been left to fend for themselves can quickly move to manufacture technologies to save their people. Such a move will also help countries better prepare themselves for future outbreaks by reducing reliance on rich-world manufacturers. Unfortunately, even with a complete waiver of WTO-enforced intellectual property (IP) rights, more support is needed to expand vaccine production capacity. WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) is a final critical, complementary element. The aim of C-TAP is to collect intellectual property rights for technologies needed to fight COVID-19 to allow increased manufacturing, particularly in developing countries, and thus ensure adequate supplies for the entire globe. Critically, C-TAP aims to enable the proactive technology transfer of know-how—the recipe—and other IP, above and beyond patents, that will be needed to enable manufacturers to produce vaccines. To date, 40 countries , primarily from the global south, have signed on, but C-TAP is not fully operational due to a lack of political backing, funding, and participation from patent holders and vaccine manufacturers. ​ The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is one of the C-TAP partners, and it has a successful history of dramatically increasing production and lowering prices of medicines for HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, and other maladies in developing countries using a model analogous to C-TAP. In its earliest days, the MPP was in a similarly precarious position. Fortunately, the Obama administration stepped forward to put U.S.-owned patents into the pool while encouraging drug companies to work with MPP to improve access to their medicines in developing countries. ​ This early support from the United States was critical for the MPP’s eventual success, saving billions of dollars while expanding access to treatments. The incoming Biden administration must champion C-TAP by putting the political heft of the U.S. government behind the effort. It can commit the IP of vaccine technologies developed with U.S. taxpayer dollars to the effort and push the heavily taxpayer-funded vaccine manufacturers to participate. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease doctor, has already come out in support of this. ​ The success of C-TAP would mean a dramatic increase in global vaccine production capacity and create a level of autonomy for developing countries to address the outbreak and ongoing post-pandemic COVID-19 vaccination needs. ​ Unfortunately, the situation we find ourselves in is eerily similar to the AIDS crisis. Rich countries fought the pleas of the poor by forcing developing countries to respect “the rules” of international trade and protect pharmaceutical company profits while millions died. That happened even though the profits to be made in developing countries were minute since the population simply couldn’t afford the drugs, many similarly developed with the support of U.S. taxpayers. As the global economy faces trillions of dollars in losses and people are forced to stay home, are forced out of work, and are forced to be apart from dying loved ones, U.S. leaders must recognize that maintaining the status quo benefits no one but pharmaceutical companies. ​ Many developing countries have responded with valor and efficacy to the pandemic while the West failed—but Western wealth and power have nevertheless given countries like the United States control of the final pieces to defeat the pandemic. The Biden administration has a golden opportunity to repair the country’s reputation globally and meet the real needs of developing nations. Without action, the Biden presidency will be defined by COVID-19 and the economic and human ruin it will continue to create. With effective action, Biden’s team will be a key player in bringing the pandemic under control and saving lives while rebuilding the United States’ global standing. ​ Ethan Guillén is an independent consultant working in global health, and is on the Policy Team of R2H Action (Right to Health). As Executive Director of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, he worked on global health medicines innovation and pricing policy. Ethan was a part of the team that helped launch the Medicines Patent Pool, an organization that licenses medicine patents to have them produced generically for use in developing countries. Most recently he worked for Doctors Without Borders on policy matters related to the West African Ebola outbreak and diagnostic innovation. ​ ​

Join Right to Health Action for our exclusive upcoming event “The Movement For This Moment: An Interview With Dr. Paul Farmer”. During this 90-minute event, activists will engage in a thought-provoking discussion with medical anthropologist and physician Dr. Paul Farmer about the social movement that we need to break the accelerating cycle of pandemics. ​ Register below! ​ We must meet this moment with a movement that ends the cycle of panic and neglect and ensures that we don’t repeat the same mistakes yet again. This conversation will explore how we can take lessons from previous social movements and apply them to create a social movement to pandemic-proof the planet. About Dr. Paul Farmer Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., is Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and Co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health. Farmer and his colleagues have pioneered novel, community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings. He has written extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, from which he was the recipient of the 2018 Public Welfare Medal. He has authored multiple books, including: The Uses of Haiti , Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor , and Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction . His most recent book, is Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History .

R2HA + Marked By COVID published by Democracy Journal decrying impact of World Bank's colonial, racial bias against our new global pandemic fund READ ARTICLE Página Principal Landing Page Sobre Nosotros POLICY PLATFORM Plan de Prevención Web-Ins MEDIA Únete a nosotros STORE DONATE Únete a nosotros Copy of Únete a nosotros Search Results MISSION: Somos un movimiento de base de miles de expertos, trabajadores de salud y activistas en los 50 estados. Desencadenado por la pandemia de Coronavirus 2019, nuestro objetivo es tomar medidas para derogar y reemplazar las políticas mortales que causan ciclos de pandemias que impactan desproporcionadamente a los ya pobres y enfermos. También organizamos clases dinámicas en línea ("web-ins") que reúnen a activistas, profesionales y académicos para discutir cuestiones urgentes de salud y derechos humanos. Por último, capacitamos a líderes de organización de base para movilizar a sus comunidades para la acción compartida. LEARN MORE JOIN US: We are tens of thousands of activists, COVID survivors, people who have lost loved ones, scientists, health workers, students and youth, global health veterans, and environmental activists. We are always seeking new people to join our movement! Interested in getting involved? Let us know! GET INVOLVED IMPACTO LEARN MORE JOIN US IMPACTO READ MORE READ MORE READ MORE VIEW ALL PRESS VOLUNTARIOS R2H Advocate map

MERCH STORE All proceeds fund our fight for a pandemic-free future APPAREL Styles and colors customizable for each design VIEW ALL APPAREL SHOP "Global Vaccine Justice Now." SHOP "COVID-19 was preventable." SHOP "Fight for a pandemic-free future." SHOP "Variants won't stop until the world is vaccinated" SHOP "Variants won't stop until the world is vaccinated" SHOP Tote Bag: "COVID-19 was preventable." ART // CRAFT 100% of proceeds benefitting Right to Health Action SHOP "Health justice is preventing the next pandemic" Block Print - Coral Red Hand-printed signed 11 x 14 inch block print art. Limited edition of 30 prints. Ships in 3-5 business days. SHOP "Health justice is preventing the next pandemic" Block Print - Blue ink H and-printed signed 11 x 14 inch block print art. Limited edition of 30 prints. Ships in 3-5 business days. SHOP "Health justice is preventing the next pandemic" Block Print - Mustard Yellow H and-printed signed 11 x 14 inch block print art. Limited edition of 30 prints. Ships in 3-5 business days. SHOP "Health justice is preventing the next pandemic" Block Print - Moss Green H and-printed signed 11 x 14 inch block print art. Limited edition of 30 prints. Ships in 3-5 business days. SHOP "Health justice is preventing the next pandemic" Block Print - Black ink H and-printed signed 11 x 14 inch block print art. Limited edition of 100 prints. Ships in 3-5 business days.

WATCH OUR EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATION WITH DR. TOM FRIEDEN Join Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC Director , and Chris Noble on the R2H Organizing team for a discussion on global vaccine equity. Dr. Frieden spoke directly about the current state of play for vaccinating the world, and insights on what is needed to ramp up our efforts to get shots in the arms to people everywhere. Dr. Tom Frieden is a physician trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health, and epidemiology. ​ He is the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the New York City Health Department. Dr. Frieden is currently President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies.

As COVID-19 vaccines become a reality, wealthy world leaders are buying up all the supply. Billions of people in poor countries are being left behind. Two World Health Organization-led programs, COVAX and the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) can fix this. Please sign this petition to urge Joe Biden to rejoin WHO and support it's 189-nation initiative to get free vaccines to more people, faster, and cheaper. By sharing the vaccines the public has paid to invent, licensing generic producers, and expanding manufacturing and distribution capacity worldwide, we can finally bring this pandemic to a definitive end.

COVID, CLIMA Y COMUNIDAD HACIENDO CONEXIONES PARA ALCANZAR LA JUSTICIA PARA TODOS Este Web-In del Derecho a la Salud utilizará una lente participativa centrada en la comunidad para explorar cómo se conectan COVID-19 y el clima. Después de aprender de un panel de oradores con amplia experiencia en movilización comunitaria, justicia climática y One Health, nos organizaremos en pequeños grupos interactivos que visualizan y cocrean soluciones sostenibles para optimizar la salud planetaria, prevenir futuras pandemias y lograr justicia para todos . Al cultivar modelos para una colaboración efectiva dentro de nuestra comunidad global diversa, juntos crearemos el impulso para un movimiento transformador que vincule directamente la sostenibilidad ambiental con la salud humana. MODERADO POR NIGHTINGALE MUIRURI Estamos organizando los siguientes líderes dinámicos: Dr. Tinashe Goronga - Doctor en Medicina de Zimbabwe Tatiane Sousa, PhD - ecologista brasileña Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim - Activista ambiental Maya Menezes - Gerente Senior de Programación y Desarrollo en The Leap Cheryl Davila - Concejal de la ciudad de Berkley en representación del Distrito 2 LECTURAS INTERESANTES VER The Next Wave - How to Beat Future Pandemics ​ ​ By UN Environment Programme WATCH LEER How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease By Abrahm Lustgarten READ LEER One Health: a concept led by Africa, with global benefits ​ By Titus Mlengeya Kamani, Rudovick Kazwala, Sayoki Mfinanga, Dan Haydon, Julius Keyyu, Felix Lankester& Joram Buza READ

COVID-19 Y EL DERECHO A LA SALUD ¿Está incómodo con la estructura actual de nuestro sistema de salud? A veces te preguntas: ¿Cómo llegó nuestra sociedad aquí? ¿Te sientes llamado a la acción? La crisis de COVID-19 ha demostrado lo precario que es todo, lo poco preparados que estamos y cuán débiles son nuestras protecciones sociales. Especialmente para los millones de personas marginadas que están excluidas del acceso a los derechos humanos básicos (alimentos, vivienda, un salario digno, educación decente, votación equitativa, atención médica de calidad). Ahora es una oportunidad para unificar y dar sentido a esto, construir relaciones e interactuar con expertos y proveedores de primera línea para tratar de comprender lo que está sucediendo. Hacemos esto para que podamos trabajar juntos para crear una realidad más equitativa y justa para todos nuestros futuros. MODERADO POR JON SHAFFER Destacando: Dra. Joia Mukherjee, directora médica de Partners in Health Prof. Amy Kapczynski - Profesora de Derecho en la Facultad de Derecho de Yale Prof. Gregg Gonsalves - Profesor de Epidemiología en la Facultad de Medicina de Yale Dr. David Jones - Profesor de Historia y Cultura de la Medicina en la Facultad de Medicina de Harvard LECTURAS INTERESANTES Boston Review Mercados v. Vidas BY GREGG GONSALVES & AMY KAPCZYNSKI Lee mas Boston Review Solo contra el virus BY AMY KAPCZYNSKI & GREGG GONSALVES Lee mas

COVID FAMILIES POUR LOVED ONE'S ASHES ON SENATE STEPS, DEMAND PASSAGE OF INTERNATIONAL PANDEMIC PREVENTION AND COVID RESPONSE ACT [WASHINGTON, DC] Four activists from Right to Health Action were arrested on November 16, 2021 by capitol police for spreading the ashes of loved ones killed by COVID-19. 50 activists from around the country gathered in Upper Senate Park to protest the lack of action by Congress around COVID-19, global vaccine equity, and pandemic preparedness. Drawing inspiration from legendary HIV/AIDS activist organization ACT UP’s 1992 and 1996 protests, activists spread the ashes of their loved ones in a political funeral on the steps of a Congressional office building. Some of the activists who participated then, were present again today to stand up for action to combat this new pandemic, as well as current members of ACT UP Philadelphia. Erika Mckibben from McDonough, GA shared the story of her father being murdered by COVID-19 and expressed her anger for the complacency of our government leaders. She cried, “Every day that Congress waits to pass critical legislation to end the COVID-19 pandemic means more lives will be lost.” The bipartisan bill (S.2297), led by Senators Risch (R-ID) and Menendez (D-NJ), has already passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is currently being offered as an amendment to the annual “must-pass” National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). S.2297 will mandate the Biden Administration to vaccinate 70% of the world by September 2022, invest in health system strengthening in low-income countries, and establish a new global fund for pandemic prevention. A version of the bill already passed the House this year, once as a stand alone bill with unanimous Democrat support and 99 Republican cosponsors, and again as an amendment to the House NDAA. “COVID-19 should never have happened,” said McKibben. “Five million lives lost worldwide represents five million policy failures. We need the Senate to do its part now by passing S.2297 as part of the NDAA, to protect families everywhere from COVID-19 and make sure this tragedy never happens again.” MEDIA COVERAGE Four charged with disorderly conduct after pouring human ashes on Russell Senate Office Building steps (WDVM) Demandan al presidente de EE.UU. que vacune al 70% de la población mundial (CNN en Espanol) United Press International Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5

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