Oxfam reaction to Covid summit commitments

In response to the commitments made at President Biden’s Second COVID-19 Summit today, especially the licensing of publicly owned medical technologies, such as the stabilized spike protein for use by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) through the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), Robbie Silverman, Oxfam America’s Senior Manager of Private Sector Advocacy, made the following statement:

“Today's announcement that the US will share its technology with the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool sets a welcome and bold example for the sharing of essential technologies we all need. Now we need to see this kind of leadership from the US at the WTO.

“We hope today’s announcement encourages similar moves on other US-funded technologies and spur major vaccine manufacturers to heed the US's example. Much more can be done to ensure that everyone, everywhere is protected in this ongoing pandemic. The US should also urgently step up its funding commitments at least to the full $5 billion requested. 

“Even with this little bit of progress, we still urgently need a WTO TRIPS waiver that waives intellectual property for vaccines, tests, and treatments to ensure that all countries have the technology and resources to vaccinate, test and treat people regardless of where they live.

“There is indeed so much more to do. At the current rate, it will take another two and a half years for low-income countries to be able to vaccinate 70% of their populations with an initial two doses. And this is simply unjust.”