We would like to extend an invitation to join us next week on 22 June at the special time of 15:00 for the next event in our WIDER Webinar Series.

Full details HERE

Jayati Ghosh joins the WIDER Webinar Series to discuss the pathways available to achieve a people’s vaccine, with equitable vaccine distribution, and increased public production. Ken Shadlen joins as discussant to talk about the challenges of increasing production to assure adequate supply of COVID-19 vaccines and the role of technology transfer. 

The COVID-19 vaccine apartheid and how to end it

The development of effective COVID-19 vaccines was a feat of modern medicine. But this remarkable achievement has been overshadowed by the hurdles of production and distribution, further entrenching the division between rich and poor countries. 80% of all vaccinations have taken place in high-income countries, and the vast majority of the world’s population are yet to receive even a single dose. Though this is not purely a story of vaccine hoarding and rich countries being greedy, it stems from a bigger issue, a lack of supply. Right now there are simply not enough doses to go around. But this need not be the case. 

By temporarily waiving Intellectual Property rights and promoting transfers of knowledge and technology to enable public production of the vaccine, the supply issue could be alleviated. As it stands, the patent system is delaying the end of the pandemic and protecting the profits of pharmaceutical companies. 

*This event takes place at 15:00 UCT+3*

Register here

Kind regards,

Ruby Richardson Communications Associate
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research Phone +358 (0)9 615 99257  Email richardson@wider.unu.edu Web wider.unu.edu Katajanokanlaituri 6 B, FI-00160 Helsinki, Finland