Free the Vaccine for COVID-19
As we work to get institutions to sign onto the Open Covid Pledge, many have expressed the wish that they could add their own names in a gesture of public support, showing their institutions that they care and want to see action for a free vaccine. We’re excited to share that this is now possible!
Head on over to this page, scroll down, and add your name. It only takes a few seconds, but it’s something to be proud of today.
We will be hosting a session on Free The Vaccine this Friday at 2 pm EST, at the online Global Change Days conference! You can get tickets for the whole conference on the website, and we hope to see you there.
In past newsletter installments, we’ve talked about the creative idea one of our Seal squads had to send audio cards to targets instead of emails. An email is easy to delete. A beautiful audio card that literally speaks to you? Not so much.
The Seal 1 squad figured out how to make this easy audio card action work, and now, they want to share this resource with you: a toolkit, complete with an example video, on how to make your own card with a hidden audio device that will play your “Free The Vaccine” message.
Sign this petition by Global Justice Now calling on the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Secretary of State for International Development!
The petition asks for conditions to be attached all UK funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, ensuring that the vaccine will be affordable to all in the UK and globally.
For those who can commit to a more time-intensive action, a New York Times editor is looking for college students to write op-eds about their experiences during the pandemic and their thoughts on schools reopening. This could be a great opportunity for a college student to write about our campaign and the Open COVID Pledge!
Head to the editor’s DMs to make your pitch, and feel free to reach out to the FTV team with questions.
Heads of state, former heads of state, and other prominent figures have formally announced their support for The People’s Vaccine, arguing in an open letter that the vaccine should be available to all, in all countries, free of charge. We’ve compiled the full list of signatories here.
For this week’s quick and easy action, we’re asking you to join us in reaching out to one of the signatories on the list—just @ them on Twitter—and thanking them for their support! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #FreeTheVaccine.
So far, we’ve been working on highly-targeted actions asking researchers and institutions to join the Open COVID Pledge. That’s an important part of our campaign. But reaching out to The People’s Vaccine signatories is about broadening our engagement. We’re trying to build a global movement, and this open letter tells us there are powerful people on our side. It’s important that we connect with them, leverage that power, and link our actions to the global mission at hand.
Want a simple way to join one of our creative actions? Our activists have been adding another element to their social distancing runs. Check it out below:
Next time you go for a run (or a walk, or a bike ride) to get some fresh air and exercise while in isolation, take a piece of chalk with you! When you need a break, find a place where others are likely to pass by, and share a message. Here’s some possibilities:
What good is a vaccine
when you can’t afford it?
#FreeTheVaccine
Our taxes paid for it already
#FreeTheVaccine
No one should poor because they are sick
or sick because they are poor.
#FreeTheVaccine
It takes one minute, and it helps get the word out.
Don’t forget to snap a picture and tag @uaem_meds4people on Instagram, or @uaem on Twitter! And of course, use the hashtag #FreeTheVaccine.
Want a simple way to join one of our creative actions? It’s easy–just plant something, or find a plant you can use. Then follow the steps in the infographic below to dedicate the plant to a researcher working on COVID-19!
If you’re having trouble thinking of a scientist, feel free to dedicate it to any of the researchers who have already noticed us: Dr. Jethro Herberg from Imperial College, Prof. Pollard of Oxford University, Marcin Drag at Wroclaw University, Prof. Kev Dhaliwal of Edinburgh Medical School, or Dr Hirani of Edinburgh Medical School. Don’t forget to tag @covidplants on Twitter or @covidresearchchampions on Instagram so we can reshare your photo!
Below are some images we’ve shared so far of the plants with their dedication labels!
Not a member of our Global Advocacy Innovation Labs? We still need your help! Here are some things you can do:
Our U.S. Petition demands that government officials make vaccines and diagnostic tools for COVID19 developed with public funding in the U.S. available to all. If you haven’t already, please sign and share this petition— we need your solidarity and support today.
This week, companies like Microsoft, IBM, HP, and Facebook joined UAEM and C4AA in supporting this pledge and urging universities and other institutions to make their intellectual property available free of charge for use in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and minimizing the impact of the disease. We need more institutions to step up and make the same commitment. Every organization working on COVID-19 should be making this pledge.
If you’re not sure how to start, our Labs have found that personalizing your message makes an enormous difference. If you have a personal connection or mutual friend with someone who has the power to sign on, reach out to them! If you don’t, do your research on potential signatories. How can you connect with them on a personal level? Be bold to make your message stand out: someone might receive dozens of emails each day, but a video or a piece of art will grab their attention.
This week the Salk Labs are seeking out people, universities, institutions, and non-profits to sign the Open COVID Pledge.
Immediate action is required to halt the COVID-19 Pandemic and treat those it has affected. It is a practical and moral imperative that every tool we have at our disposal be applied to develop and deploy technologies on a massive scale without impediment.
We therefore pledge to make our intellectual property available free of charge for use in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and minimizing the impact of the disease.
Please help get the word out. Tell friends about the Open COVID Pledge, send emails, post on social media, write letters to the editor, or come up with your own creative ways to get the word out and add organizations to this effort!