Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity

Friends of the Earth International calls for the implementation of a TRIPS waiver to remove corporate monopolies on Covid-19 vaccines, arguing that current distribution is alarmingly unequal and prioritises pharmaceutical profits over human rights.

• The current distribution of Covid-19 vaccines is highly unequal, with high-income countries vaccinating 25 times faster than the lowest-income countries.
• A temporary waiver of intellectual property rights (TRIPS waiver) on vaccine know-how, technology, and licenses would allow more countries and companies to produce vaccines locally at lower prices, accelerating availability for the global South, where some may wait until 2023 for vaccination.
• Pharmaceutical companies are generating high profits from vaccines developed with public funding; for instance, Pfizer's vaccine candidate is sold for approximately $39 for two doses, which represents an 80% profit margin.
• Regional crises illustrate the impact of vaccine inequality: India has faced a deadly second wave with over 300,000 daily cases, the Philippines have vaccinated less than 1% of their population, and Africa has received only 2% of all global vaccine doses.
• While the US and New Zealand have announced support for the TRIPS waiver, other wealthy states including the United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland continue to block the proposal.

APA

FOEIAdmin (2021). Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/time-for-a-peoples-vaccine-to-tackle-covid-19-with-justice-and-equity/

Chicago

FOEIAdmin. Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity. Friends of the Earth International, 2021. https://www.foei.org/time-for-a-peoples-vaccine-to-tackle-covid-19-with-justice-and-equity/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=FOEIAdmin |title=Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=7 May 2021 |url=https://www.foei.org/time-for-a-peoples-vaccine-to-tackle-covid-19-with-justice-and-equity/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{foeiadmin2021time, author = {FOEIAdmin}, title = {{Time for a People’s Vaccine to tackle Covid-19 with justice and equity}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.foei.org/time-for-a-peoples-vaccine-to-tackle-covid-19-with-justice-and-equity/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }