2023-05-04 17:10:00
The pharmaceutical companies with the most revenue -Pfizer, Moderna, Merck and Johnson and Johnson- have concluded their Annual General Meeting without passing resolutions designed to facilitate the universal distribution of vaccines against Covid-19, a fact about which Tamaryn Nelson, adviser of Health of Amnesty International, has stated:
“Over the past three years, those at the helm of big pharma have seen their incomes soar while people in low- and lower-middle-income countries continue to struggle to access vital medicines. While their efforts to rapidly develop Covid-19 vaccines should be recognized, it is clear that, to this day, pharmaceutical companies have failed in their human rights responsibility to ensure equal access. Why aren’t investors holding them accountable?”
“In the race to develop life-saving vaccines, people in low-income countries were left behind, and the global allocation of Covid-19 vaccines will go down in history as one of the worst examples of global inequality.. Three years later, there are still no major changes. While Pfizer and Moderna are reportedly considering quadrupling the price of Covid-19 vaccines in some countries, only 25% of the population in low-income countries have received the full vaccination schedule and millions of people are still not receiving any doses.”
“This year’s Annual General Meeting represented an opportunity for Big Pharma to mend their game and show that when policies focused on global access, affordability, transparency and accountability are adopted, countries have a better chance of coping. to a global health crisis. But once again, pharmaceutical companies continue to put profit before people and are not held to account by investors.”
“Again, institutional investors have not approved the resolution introduced by Oxfam America, which calls for commissioning shareholder reports on the transfer of technology to manufacture vaccines against COVID-19 so that manufacturers in low-income countries and medium-low can produce them.”
“It is time for investors to ensure that these companies make structural changes with immediate effect to ensure that the world weathers future pandemics collectively, leaving no one behind.”
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