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Vaccines for all: The U.S. Supports the TRIPs Waiver — where's Canada?
07 May 2021 — Public Services International (PSI) is welcoming the announcement by the Biden administration of support for a suspension of intellectual property rights for COVID-related vaccines, and to “participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO)." The global union federation is urging others to follow suit, namely the EU, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Norway, and Canada.
Since October 2020, PSI has been demanding that rich countries agree to the TRIPS waiver and share the vaccine, and other health products, such as diagnostics, PPE, and upcoming medicines.
The USA and New Zealand support the TRIPs Waiver — What about Canada?
PSI expressed confidence that more countries will follow the line of the U.S. government. This is the case for New Zealand, which only a few hours after the U.S. announcement, decided to support the vaccine waiver. And the European Union for the first time said it was ready to discuss what Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, called a “U.S. proposal for a waiver for Covid-19 vaccines.”
"We need a strong waiver that is not only about vaccines, but also about upcoming medicines," says Rosa Pavanelli, PSI General Secretary.
"Across the world, front-line workers are making huge sacrifices to save lives while people grow furious at vaccination delays. We call on all the other rich countries to desist from putting big pharma's profits ahead of ramping up vaccine production."
As Pavanelli stated:
The waiver has already been delayed too much, and the actual text of the waiver will only now come under scrutiny. We need the negotiations to be speeded up, and we need a strong outcome. A strong waiver that is not only about vaccines but also about upcoming medicines, a strong waiver that will create pathways for generic versions of existing vaccines to be produced, a strong waiver that lasts for as long as the pandemic lasts, a strong waiver that is practical to use for countries that decide to do so.
Canada must follow suit: NUPGE says Trudeau govt. must defend people not corporate greed
"The National Union is proud to join other members of PSI in welcoming the announcement by the Biden administration to back the waiver of the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS," said Larry Brown, NUPGE President and former PSI titular.
"But this will not be enough to put an end to the pandemic," Brown added. "We have no time to waste. The Government of Canada needs to stop obstructing the global movement for a waiver and adopt a progressive approach: stop defending the economic interests of giant transnational pharmaceutical companies, and defend access to vaccines and vaccine technology."
Global movement for a waiver
The decision from the Biden administration comes on the back of immense efforts by a range of organizations, including PSI affiliates and the trade union movement across the world. We are proud of the efforts of our affiliates and allies in this collective campaign effort. We will continue our efforts until the negotiations conclude with a meaningful outcome.