Covid-19
Pfizer briefed Irish politicians against waiver of patents on Covid vaccines
Emails show the company emphasised on-the-ground supply issues facing poorer countries ahead of a global decision on IP rights which divided activists and the pharmaceutical industry
Pfizer briefed Irish politicians against the idea of temporarily scrapping intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines during global discussions about how to help poorer countries access the lifesaving medicines.
Letters show the pharmaceutical giant wrote to Irish politicians arguing that countries with lower vaccine uptake – mostly those in the global south – were struggling more with an “excess supply of vaccine” than with their inability to make their own vaccines due to IP licensing ...