COVID-19 vaccine roll out, not a level playing field

While our instinct is to help those closest to us first, a UBC Okanagan health researcher says world trade limitations will impact accessibility of COVID-19 vaccine for millions of people, and our federal government should be doing more to help.

Katrina Plamondon is an assistant professor in UBCO’s School of Nursing and together with more than 100 health researchers across the country, is asking the federal government to think globally, when it comes to distribution.

“Intellectual property rights are protected by a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement. As it stands, the WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is likely to negatively impact the distribution of vaccines, treatment, equipment, and knowledge to battle the pandemic,” Plamondon said. “There is a global call for a waiver to certain TRIPS rules to ensure developing countries can rapidly scale up access to vaccines, treatments and equipment without fear of a trade dispute.”

The group is calling on a TRIPS waiver in light of the public dollars that have been put into research and development of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Some countries can afford to purchase, others to manufacture-and many cannot. The TRIPS agreement empowers developing countries’ capacity to get vaccine to people who need it,” Plamondon added. “The TRIPS waiver would let member states bypass time-consuming procedures for issuing or enforcing patents. That would make COVID-19-related products-including vaccines-global public goods, at least for the acute phase of the pandemic.”

Ninety-nine developing countries already declared support for the waiver. The waiver is opposed by a handful of wealthier countries-including Canada-that have strong financial interests in protecting current intellectual property regulations. Others against the waiver are the US, the UK, the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and Brazil.

Canada has announced that it would contribute $243 million help purchase vaccines for low-and middle-income countries.

“This pandemic will not disappear if countries vaccinate their own population, leaving millions of people around the world isolated and without a vaccine,” Plamondon said. “One thing this pandemic has done, is created an opportunity to build international policies and meaningful programs that will ensure a balanced, fair and healthy future for us all.”