New surveys have shown that G7 populations share knowledge of vaccines Coronavirus pandemic News

Most residents of G7 countries believe that governments should ensure that pharmaceutical companies share their vaccine formulas and technology, according to new surveys conducted by the Vaccine Alliance against Peoples.

In a statement on Wednesday, the alliance said an average of seven out of 10 people in G7 countries want the government to share knowledge of vaccines, the survey said.

Respondents were asked if they believe that pharmaceutical companies should be fairly compensated for developing vaccines, but that they should not have a monopoly on vaccines.

74 per cent of the UK wants the government to avoid monopolies as they allow intervention from all political backgrounds.

The largest support for government intervention was in Italy, with 82 percent of respondents in favor, followed by Canada, with 76% agreeing.

In the United States, 69 percent of citizens support the measure, while in Japan, 58 percent agree with the action.

European Union member states are also in favor, with 70% supported in Germany and 63% in France, according to the survey.

The polls were published when G7 members gathered in London, and Wednesday was the last day of formal talks. G7 members from the UK, the US, Japan, France, Germany, Canada and Italy will try to agree on how to make long-term coronavirus vaccines available worldwide.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Antony Blink agreed on the need for a global expansion of COVID-19 vaccines to end the pandemic.

“Prime Minister and Secretary Blink agreed that the global spread of vaccines will be key to defeating the coronavirus pandemic,” Johnson’s office said in a statement. “They stressed the importance of the G7’s work in this area, including efforts to increase international manufacturing capacity.”

Separately on Wednesday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) will meet remotely, where members will discuss a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for producing coronavirus vaccines during the pandemic.

Proponents of the plan, initially presented by South Africa and India, argue that it would allow more locations to produce coronavirus vaccines without violating international rules without violating the international rules of the Trade Parties to Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

But the proposal has been blocked by the US, the UK, Japan, Canada and the EU, among others. The US has confirmed this reconsider opposition to the waiver.

Pharmaceutical companies have so far refused to share knowledge of vaccines and have argued that refusing to do so will harm innovation.

As the WTO meeting struggles with a second devastating wave of coronavirus in India, morgues and hospitals have been left in dire straits amidst health and oxygen shortages.

It has confirmed more than the second most populous country in the world 20 million infections, even if the image is believed to be the minimum number. More than 220,000 people have been killed.

Some experts believe that the rise caused by new variants of the virus, including the first discovered in India, has left patients dying in ambulances and parking lots.

The WHO said the Indian variant has so far been extended to 17 nations.

“The dire situation in India should upset the G7 leaders,” STOPAIDS defense manager Saoirse Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

“Now is not the time to make an ideological defense of intellectual property rules. Bilateral agreements with pharmaceutical companies have not worked. Governments need to step in and force pharmaceutical companies to share intellectual property and vaccine knowledge with the world. ”

As president of the G7, the UK has proposed a Pandemic Preparedness Plan to be discussed by ministers this week, which ignores the issue of monopolies and intellectual property. Pharmaceutical corporations such as Pfizer, which is preparing the proposal, are working on it, but governments in developing countries and vaccine producers have not been asked to do so, according to Amnesty.

“G7 governments have clear human rights obligations to put the interests of pharmaceutical companies that have funded the lives of millions of people around the world,” said Steve Cockburn, head of Amnesty International’s Economic and Social Justice.

“It would be a serious failure of leadership to continue to block the sharing of life-saving technologies and would serve to prolong the enormous pain and suffering caused by this pandemic.”

In April, 175 world leaders and former Nobel laureates, including Gordon Brown, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Francois Hollande open letter, Asked U.S. President Joe Biden for help temporary waiver of intellectual property rights For COVID-19 vaccines.

Leading health experts around the world have warned that the spread of vaccines is slow and the distribution may be unbalanced. vaccine shots will not be effective as new coronavirus mutations appear among uninserted populations.

Independent SAGE, which provides independent public health advice in the UK, has also applied for a patent waiver.

Pharmaceutical companies that produce coronavirus vaccines have received billions in grants and guaranteed pre-orders, including $ 12 billion from the U.S. government alone. According to Amnesty, 97% of funding for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine came from public sources.

“Companies have combined $ 26 billion in new dividends and stock purchases with their shareholders this year, enough to include at least 1.3 billion people, the equivalent of the African population.”