SASRO Webinar - Vaccines, Covid-19, and Access to Healthcare

Since the pandemic was declared by the WHO, there has been a rush to try to find ways to stop the virus. The production of a vaccine that would help both to get immunity, as well as manage the symptoms of the disease. But the race for vaccine is a complicated one. We live in a world dominated by Big Pharma, and there is a competing interest of the health of the global population, and profit. Vaccines are patented, strict and limited production is imposed, and highest bidder comes first. Vaccine apartheid or nationalism was a term coined due to the inequality in distribution to developing countries, and unequal access as countries prioritise certain groups, nationalities, ethnicities over others.

This episode looks at issues of Vaccines and international property rights, the TRIPS waiver, and the vaccine roll out in Southern Africa.

Speakers:
KM Gopakumar, Third World Network
Baba Aye, PSI Health and Social Sector Officer
Tichaona Fambisa, PSI SRS for Southern Africa