LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds President Biden’s decision to share vital patented vaccine technologies with the world to bolster vaccine access in low- and middle-income countries.
“Unlocking the monopoly on this lifesaving know-how will pave the way for generic manufacturing of mRNA vaccines and save millions of lives around the world,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “President Biden boldly stood up to relentless pressure from big pharma and chose to do the right thing – humanity should benefit from the research and discoveries funded with US taxpayers’ money, not greedy corporations and their insatiable executives.”
The commitment follows a speech by President Biden at the second global COVID-19 virtual summit, which concluded today. Patents for manufacturing components of highly effective mRNA vaccines, which belong to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be shared with the World Health Organization and the Medicines Patent Pool.
While more than 11.6 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, less than 16% of people in low-income countries have gotten even one dose. According to a March 2022 United Nations report, 2.8 billion people worldwide were still waiting to get their first shot. AHF has been advocating for the sharing of COVID-19 technologies as part of its Vaccinate Our World campaign since early 2021.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million clients in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
Contacts
US MEDIA CONTACT:
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1.323.308.1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile
gedk@aidshealth.org
Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy &
Communications, AHF
+1 323.308.1829
denys.nazarov@ahf.org
