Vaccine inequity derails efforts to combat Covid-19

The declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic saw in its wake the disruption of social and economic activities the world over. The capacities of many healthcare systems, especially in developing countries, were stretched to the tipping point.

Luckily, upon considerable scientific efforts, some effective vaccines were produced. Whereas this restored hope, many countries, especially from the developing world, faced a Herculean task in accessing the vaccines, thanks to the restrictive Intellectual Property (IP) regime. Intellectual property law restrictions arise because vaccine patents prevent others from entering the market in any form, including production, supply and pricing.

Ordinarily, the owner of a patent to a new medical product is granted exclusive proprietary rights for some period of time, mostly 20 years. The proponents of exclusivity argue that the same allows innovators time-limited rights so as to recoup benefits of their intellectual input in the nature of numerous research and development towards an innovation.

With the pandemic ravaging the world, the urgency by developed countries in securing vaccines exposed the soft underbelly of the existent global inequalities. A world was divided into two fronts; those with vaccine and those without. It is on record that developed countries had a stock surplus of vaccines that could be shared and still enough left over to vaccinate 80 per cent of their population older than 12 years. 

The self-defeating situation was aptly described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) boss Tedros Ghebreyesus as not only a moral failure, but an economic and human rights catastrophe. The opposition by the west on the request by developing countries led by South Africa and India to the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Council for a temporary waiver, meant to eliminate patent and other intellectual property barriers for the development, production and supply of all Covid-19 medical products, underscores the underlying inequalities. 

Equitable vaccines access

As the world continues fighting the pandemic, whose threat is now compounded by the WHO latest warning of a heavily mutated Omicron variant, vaccination of the population is no doubt paramount towards containment of the virus. 

While the short term solution to ensuring more equitable vaccines access is reliant on distribution of the global stockpile to places in need, the long term solution should focus on local capacity strengthening.

The Kenyan government has taken cue on this self-reliance lesson. During the State of the Nation Address, the President outlined some ongoing efforts to establish a venture that would locally produce anti Covid-19 vaccines targeted to commence operations by Easter 2022.

Developing countries must rise to the occasion and confront barriers such as lack of physical infrastructure, technical expertise, and supply chain capability. Maximum utilization of the obtaining TRIPS flexibilities and further attempt by developing countries to liberalize Intellectual property rules through IP waivers, would make these underlying technologies available for use at a global scale. The WHO global accord on pandemic prevention mooted by the World Health Assembly, is a welcome effort aimed at protecting the world from future infections.

Mr Kisorio is the Head of Legal Services at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.