By Maansa Gurram – Free the Vaccine Student Lead Sharing a brief update on the latest action to fight for global equity in access to vaccines! On Thursday, April 28th, activists from Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 in conjunction with partners and advocates… Read more: Rally Outside Moderna!
On May 12, 2022, President Biden announced a licensing agreement between the NIH and WHO Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). The announcement was made by the US Government at the second Global COVID-19 Summit, co-hosted by the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and… Read more: New Licensing Announcement between NIH and WHO C-TAP
WHEN: Wednesday, May 4th at 8 p.m. ET WHERE: Lafayette Park in Front of the White House (set up starts 7:30pm) On the evening of May 4th, Public Citizen and our allies will hold a candlelight vigil in front of the White House marking the one-year… Read more: Public Citizen: May 4th Vigil for Global Vaccine Equity
“The patent office holds sway over huge swaths of the U.S. economy,” said Priti Krishtel, an attorney and co-founder of the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge, a nonprofit dedicated to patent system reform. “It has the power to shape markets, and just… Read more: The New York Times: Save the America’s Patent System
As students and citizens who have directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a responsibility to make sure our government is working to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to bring about a more equitable end to the pandemic for… Read more: Students for Global COVID-19 Vaccine & Treatment Justice Petition
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to rage in the Global South, an inequitable and vastly insufficient global vaccination effort threatens the lives of people around the world, including in the U.S. Over the last two years, a diverse coalition of groups of public… Read more: Rally at Moderna to Share Science and End COVID
Alan Rossi Silva and Luciana M. N. Lopes represent Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a global student-driven organization in defense of universal access to medicines and a fair biomedical innovation system. Alan is a PhD candidate in Law at the State University… Read more: The ‘Compromise’ Version of the TRIPS Waiver and the Illusion of Victory
March 11 marks the beginning of the third year since the World Health Organization formally declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Join us to demand world leaders stand with people, not Big Pharma, and finally end this pandemic. We must #EndCOVIDMonopolies
Merith Basey, Executive Director for UAEM North America, writes about the harmful role that Emory University has played in the licensing of a publicly-funded treatment, molnupiravir. Click on the link below for the full article in STAT News.
Just last night, we wrapped up our fourth season of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19! We’ve learned so much with our partners at the Center for Artistic Activism (C4AA) and we’ve delivered over 120 creative actions and many more prototypes in the fight… Read more: How to make the impossible possible?
If you’re feeling festive, you can join our teams in delivering this seasonal greeting to Moderna! Get creative with us, adapt the message to Pfizer, Astrazeneca or others! Download the image and tag them on social, sing your own carol (download lyric sheet… Read more: The 12 waves of COVID
Activists, leaders, and supporters gathered in DC to protest the inaction of our administration and put pressure to ensure that a real plan is enacted to vaccinate the world. Millions of people in the Global South still lack access to the vaccine. With… Read more: End Vaccine Apartheid, Vaccinate the World Rally
We’re about to launch our 4th cohort of volunteers with a plan to keep pressure on Moderna to share our public-funded COVID-19 vaccine technology and know-how with the world. We’ll be trying and testing new tactics and we hope you’ll amplify our messages… Read more: KICK OFF for Season 4 of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19!
ALL STAR PANEL speaking truth to power and which heats up fast! UAEM co-founder Amy Kapczynski from Yale Law School is the moderator, Fatima Hassan, South African human rights lawyer and co-founder of Health Justice Initiative, Zain Rizvi of Public Citizen, James Krellenstein… Read more: REQUIRED VIEWING: How to Vaccinate the World!
Dear President Biden, We are writing to you ahead of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to urge that you take on a global leadership role and fulfill your promise of addressing COVID-19 around the world. We understand that… Read more: Urgent Letter to President Biden
The G7 meeting in Cornwall last July failed to meet the expectations of citizens across the world regarding vaccine equity. Ahead of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Rome, on 5-6 September, we now have another opportunity to put an end to vaccine… Read more: Delivering a #PeoplesVaccine
This Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 silliness is taking off on Instagram this week. Know someone who needs this kind of self-care in their wellness regimen?
Better health begins when every citizen has a voice in the public policy decisions that affect their wellbeing. Civic Health Month: a project of Vot-ER Civic Health Month aims to make voting and civic participation accessible to all–particularly those underserved by the healthcare… Read more: August is Civic Health Month!
A week ago, Linda Wan and her husband created this for a big street-art fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan. According to the Wans, the response to their sign was overwhelmingly positive. Families even came up and started applauding the sign!
No one is safe until everyone is safe. Join an action to end the pandemic everywhere! July 14 at 10 am ET Dag Hammarskjold Plaza E. 47th Street, NYC Covid-19 continues to rage across the world. We have less than 10% of the… Read more: Rally to End the Pandemic Everywhere
“To get a better understanding of the problems with vaccine access, I spoke to Tayyiaba Farooq, who is the project manager of the Free the Vaccine Campaign, an international collective of volunteers who are making the case for making vaccines available for everyone.… Read more: Pandemics – There is no “normal” to go back to
The People’s Vaccine campaign wants pharmaceutical companies to drop their patents to help distribute jabs to the billions of people across the world who remain unvaccinated. On the afternoon of the 5th of May, a hundred or so activists gathered for a rally… Read more: The People’s Vaccine Campaign
Check out this video from Intercept talking about the TRIPS Waiver and vaccine divide. There is a special feature of some UAEM members including our founder Amy Kapcyznski, Maanasa Gurham, and a couple other of our UAEM members!
World, we are ready for our close-up! UAEM student advocacy is making its debut on the silver screen! For the last couple of years members of our UAEM community have been followed by a documentary team from Participant Media. The UAEM UCLA chapter lead… Read more: UAEM Goes to Hollywood!
The European Parliament voted in favour of starting negotiations on the TRIPS Waiver! Yesterday, a resolution was adopted with consensus to encourage the European Commission to continue and support the talks in the World Trade Organisation on the TRIPS Waiver. This is a non-binding advice to the… Read more: Negotiations on the TRIPS Waiver
Billions of impoverished people are waiting in line for COVID-19 vaccines, while the virus spreads largely unchecked and mutating rapidly. There is no end in sight anywhere, until everyone, everywhere has access to a safe, free vaccine. Please help us call on Joe Biden to launch a plan… Read more: We Need to Vaccinate the World
Philanthropy Has an Unparalleled Opportunity to Build an Equitable Global Health System — and Vaccinate the World By Priti Krishtel June 2, 2021 During my nearly two decades in public health, I have never seen a moment richer with opportunity to fundamentally rebuild… Read more: Vaccinating the World
With PSI’s leadership and support, we are trying to get over 1000 health workers from India and South Africa to write to the G7 leaders (most importantly Merkel and Johnson) calling on them to support the TRIPS waiver. With the governments of India… Read more: TRIPS Waiver Petition Letter
We finished up Season 3 of Free the Vaccine on May 12! It was an exciting season as the campaign expanded focus from targeting universities to sign the Open Covid Pledge to also pressuring public institutions and officials to support a waiver of… Read more: Season 3 of Free the Vaccine: It’s a wrap!
Global Justice Now is organizing protests outside of AstraZeneca’s Annual General Meeting (head office) in Cambridge and at the company’s second largest UK site in Macclesfield on Tuesday 11 May. These protests are a continuation of the People’s Vaccine Week(s!) of action to… Read more: Rally for a People’s Vaccine at AstraZeneca
It happened. Our movement for vaccine equity saw a huge win when the Biden Administration announced, on May 5, that it would support a waiver of the TRIPS agreement for COVID-19 vaccines at the WTO. It means that the US and other governments–usually… Read more: A win for vaccine equity!
The devastation in India could have been avoided had the TRIPS waiver been passed already. We will continue to see destruction and loss of life on a global scale if we do not make it clear to the Biden Administration that they need… Read more: Call members of Congress and ask them to support the TRIPS waiver
Common Dreams highlighted the week of action in the US calling for the Biden Administration to support a waver of patent monopolies at the World Trade Organization. The week of action in the US is part of the broader People’s Vaccine weeks of… Read more: People’s Shareholder Meeting to Free the Vaccine
The University of Maine’s student newspaper The Maine Campus reported on the Free the Vaccine’s exhibit was on display at the university’s Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center until April 16. Director of the Intermedia Program Susan Smith said of the exhibit: “We… Read more: Free the Vaccine exhibition moves students to action at UMaine
Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Register now! (Registration is closed)
Please join the Program on Information, Justice and IP at American University for a one year retrospective of the Open COVID Pledge. We will examine the origins of the pledge and the reasons for pledgors to take the pledge, the potential of pledges to… Read more: The Open COVID Pledge at One Year: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
Read the press release Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) released its 2020 U.S. University Report Card: Global Equity and Biomedical Research on March 30. The report card looks at the top sixty research universities in the US and scrutinizes their biomedical research and development… Read more: UAEM 2020 U.S. University Report Card
Read the press release Over the past year, students from Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) have worked to develop a mapping tool that tracks public funding of research and development for COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Developed over the past year during… Read more: UAEM COVID Mapping Tool Tracks Public Spending in COVID-19 Research
April is turning out to be a BIG month for taking action and putting pressure on big pharma and governments (especially rich country governments) in our call for a People’s Vaccine! What’s happening in April? Pharma shareholder meetings and more meetings of the… Read more: People’s Vaccine Week(s!) of Action
On April 8 2020 Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 held it’s first online meeting. Since then we’ve had over 700 people participate in our campaign. We’ve don’e actions all over the world, had some pretty special folks stop by, and kept our eyes… Read more: A whole year of Free the Vaccine!
Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories Performed Live on Zoom One Night Only About this Event Theater of Change Presents Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories Contact Tracing tells ten heartwarming tales that delve into the indomitable human spirit, comradery and love in the… Read more: Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories
Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Register now!
The Free The Vaccine Exhibit – Creativity vs. COVID : Ending The Pandemic for Good – is now being hosted by its first in-person venue at the University of Maine. The intermedia program began hosting the virtual exhibit in February, which built community interest in… Read more: FTV Exhibit at the University of Maine
Big Pharma executives, in their pursuit of profits during a pandemic have had a great 2020, putting profits over people while the pandemic disproportionately affects some of the most vulnerable people among us. To this we say “Thank you Big Pharma for being… Read more: Big Pharma: Best Year Ever
Join Free the Vaccine’s Open Meeting! Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Everyone is welcome! Register now!… Read more: Free the Vaccine Open Meeting!
Standing in global solidarity, activists worldwide took to the streets on March 11 to decry vaccine apartheid and to demand global vaccine equity. Supporters of the People’s Vaccine participated in a rally for global solidarity against vaccine apartheid in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is… Read more: A Global Day of Action for a People’s Vaccine
At the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine Netty Prasetiyani, member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia, called our attention to the human right to health, guaranteed in international law and in the constitutions of many countries. Ms. Prasetiyani called on her… Read more: Netty Prasetiyani calls for waiver of patent monopolies for a People’s Vaccine
Winnnie Byanyima joined the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine delivering a powerful demand for justice and an inspiring call to action for activists across the globe to continue to build people power and pressure their governments in the fight for equitable access… Read more: Winnie Byanyima rallies for a People’s Vaccine!
At the People’s Vaccine Alliance’s Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine Heidi Chow, campaigner for Global Justice Now, spoke about the injustice of vaccine apartheid and the need for governments to support waiving patent monopolies that pharmaceutical corporations have through rules at the World Trade… Read more: Heidi Chow demands an end to vaccine apartheid
Luciana Lopes, Executive Director of UAEM Latin America joined the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine and highlighted that even though her country, Brazil, has manufacturing capacity they can’t make any vaccines because pharmaceutical companies won’t share their technology and know-how. She issued… Read more: Luciana Lopes Calls for Solidarity in the Fight for a People’s Vaccine
During the People’s Vaccine Alliance March 10 Global Rally Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a message announcing his support for a People’s Vaccine and calling on the Biden administration to take the necessary steps toward global vaccine equity. It is unconscionable that amid a… Read more: Bernie Sanders supports a People’s Vaccine
March 10, the eve of the one year declaration of COVID-19 a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the People’s Vaccine Alliance brought together organizers, activists, and advocates for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for a global rally! Free the Vaccine was excited… Read more: Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine
Could you patent the sun? Check out this track by Free the Vaccine supporter Deonte Keitt aka DJ Chalant created for our campaign. Follow Deonte on instagram: DJChalant and Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DJChalant Free mp3 download This song is released into the Public Domain – no… Read more: Jonas Salk the remix!
OUR BEST CHANCE OF ENDING THIS PANDEMIC is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to Covid-19 vaccines. But pharmaceutical monopolies are restricting supply and rich governments have hoarded doses, leaving countries in the global south waiting up to 2023 for widespread vaccination.… Read more: March 10: Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine!
Join the global day of action on March 11! Online Write to your member of CongressIn the US, ask your member of Congress to join a letter from Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL) urging the Biden administration to support a waiver of COVID-19 patent… Read more: People’s Vaccine Global Day of Action
Free the Vaccine launched it’s next round, Season 3, on February 17. With over 100 participants from across the globe, we are ready to continue the fight for equitable access to COVID-10 vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. This time around, we broaden our strategy… Read more: Season 3 of Free the Vaccine is Underway!
The Free the Vaccine exhibit was covered in the news from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)! Laura Holzman, who curates the exhibit with other FTV members, is an associate professor and public scholar of curatorial practices and visual art at IUPUI. Herron Galleries at… Read more: FTV Exhibit Covered in Indiana University News
The People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on US President Joe Biden and the governments of the UK and EU to use their emergency powers and to leverage their massive public funding to put pressure on Pfizer/ BioNTech, Astra Zeneca, Moderna and other subsequently successful vaccine producers, to openly share their vaccine science and technology, to waive their patents and insist that all other major vaccine producers get involved in production.
Don’t miss this fantastic article co-authored by Free the Vaccine supporter and advocate Dr Reshma Ramachandran today in The Nation. Reshma will also be joining us at 12:30pm for our info session this afternoon, January 27th. Sign up on the home page of… Read more: We already paid for these vaccines once
Join Tayyiaba, Maanasa, Rachel and Merith tomorrow Wednesday January 27th LIVE at 11am via WeActRadio for a show called Community Thru Covid! We’ll be discussing the progress of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 and what’s coming next! This show will be recorded so… Read more: Join FTV on Community Thru Covid
We are gearing up for another round of Free the Vaccine! Even as we see vaccines start to roll out in many countries, access is still not equitable. While rich countries negotiate contracts with pharmaceutical companies to secure doses of the vaccine at… Read more: Join the next round of Free the Vaccine!
In support of the Free the Vaccine for Covid-19 Campaign led by UAEM and the Center for Artistic Activism, we are looking for a few part-time intern Project Managers. Project Managers will support participants in achieving the objectives of the campaign; assist in training participants… Read more: Become a FTV Project Manager
When asked if he would encourage the US to join the WHO’s COVID Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) so that NIH-funded COVID technology and know-how can be shared with the world, Dr. Fauci responds, “Yes, yes, yes!” Watch here:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact Joyce-Zoe Farley, Ph.D. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) +1 201.983.3787 Communications@essentialmedicine.org Students and Activists Urge Arizona State University’s President Crow to Sign Open COVID Pledge for a People’s Vaccine WASHINGTON, DC–December 10, 2020 — “…Big Pharma is… Read more: Oh, the Places You’ll Go…With a Free Vaccine
Critical read on the need for a People’s Vaccine by Mariana Mazzucato, Els Torrele and Henry Lishi Li (available in multiple languages) in Project Syndicate. Designing Vaccines for People, Not Profits
Washington Post reports that the new frontier of vaccine diplomacy can be characterized by two paths: stockpile or share. While entities like the United States and the European Union have been focusing on stockpiling vaccines for their respective populations, other countries, such as… Read more: To Stockpile or To Share?
Merith joins Jocelyn from Act.Tv and Alex from Social Security Works to discuss Free the Vaccine and what the new vaccine announcements really mean for global equity. 🔈 Download Audio only: 50MB MP3 file
Image from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative Today, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) announced in a press release that thirteen countries in Africa, along with an international network of research institutions, are launching the largest clinical trial in Africa for… Read more: ANTICOV: A Continental Collaboration
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, more than 100 high-level leaders from public health, faith-based, racial justice, and labor organizations, joined former members of Congress, economists, and artists to sign a public letter calling on President-elect Biden to make the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine a People’s… Read more: PRESIDENT BIDEN: MAKE A PEOPLE’S VACCINE
Kisha Patterson is a historic preservation architect, artist, and activist practicing in Pittsburgh, PA. She is grateful for the health and safety of her children and urges everyone to demand a People’s Vaccine and sign the Open Covid Pledge. She has been volunteering… Read more: “Vilomah:” An Essay by Kisha Patterson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, DC–October 9, 2020–Moderna announced yesterday, under pressure from civil society groups including Free The Vaccine for COVID-19 and its allies in their calls for a People’s Vaccine, that it will not enforce patent protections on the pending coronavirus vaccine mRNA-1273.… Read more: UAEM Press Release: Moderna Should Free All COVID-19 IP
Image from Suzanne Kreiter via The Boston Globe First, last week brought news that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine had reported 90% efficacy. Then, we heard news from another top contender for the vaccine, Moderna, who reported 94.5% efficacy for their vaccine. Finally, Pfizer… Read more: The Future: An Uneven Burden of COVID-19
The day before the election results were declared in the US, Merith Basey on behalf of UAEM and Free the Vaccine, was invited to join allied groups Spaces in Action, Casa in action and others in DC to support the call to “Count… Read more: Merith at the Count the Votes Rally in D.C.
Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 participant, Caitlin Berrigan, has an essay published in the journal March titled “Atmospheres of the Undead: living with viruses, loneliness, and neoliberalism.” In it she talks about how living with Hepatitis C “reveals the structural inequalities of profit-oriented… Read more: Atmospheres of the Undead by Caitlin Berrigan
Image Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters/Washington Post “Megan McArdle was correct that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the drug development system is working. What she didn’t mention is that the system is working as it was designed: to maximize monopoly profits for the pharmaceutical industry.” Universities Allied for… Read more: Aly Bancroft: Pharma’s Billions Sprang from the Taxpayer Dime
18 producers of generic medicines signed on to an agreement by the Medicines Patent Pool in order to expedite access to COVID-19 health technologies. Read more here.
The Gates Foundation has often been applauded for their contributions to global research and development. Read an in-depth analysis from Health Policy Watch here.
The Duke Global Health Innovation Effort launched in order to track vaccine manufacturing deals that have been developed by countries all over the world. Read more here.
Last week, the U.S. government finally released the contract it made with Moderna in August for vaccine manufacturing and distribution. As with most documents of public interest released by this administration, the contract is heavily redacted. Moderna Therapeutics holds one of the current… Read more: Transparency and the Vaccine
For almost an entire year now, all eyes have been focusing on research to find a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19. What are these clinical trials really measuring? Peter Doshi of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports that the current Phase III… Read more: What the Current COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Cannot Tell Us
According to Global Citizen, researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in South Africa have recently launched a trial to test to see if a vaccine given for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) can serve… Read more: South Africa, COVID-19, and the MMR Vaccine
By Maansa Gurram – Free the Vaccine Student Lead Sharing a brief update on the latest action to fight for global equity in access to vaccines! On Thursday, April 28th, activists from Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 in conjunction with partners and advocates… Read more: Rally Outside Moderna!
On May 12, 2022, President Biden announced a licensing agreement between the NIH and WHO Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). The announcement was made by the US Government at the second Global COVID-19 Summit, co-hosted by the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and… Read more: New Licensing Announcement between NIH and WHO C-TAP
WHEN: Wednesday, May 4th at 8 p.m. ET WHERE: Lafayette Park in Front of the White House (set up starts 7:30pm) On the evening of May 4th, Public Citizen and our allies will hold a candlelight vigil in front of the White House marking the one-year… Read more: Public Citizen: May 4th Vigil for Global Vaccine Equity
“The patent office holds sway over huge swaths of the U.S. economy,” said Priti Krishtel, an attorney and co-founder of the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge, a nonprofit dedicated to patent system reform. “It has the power to shape markets, and just… Read more: The New York Times: Save the America’s Patent System
As students and citizens who have directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a responsibility to make sure our government is working to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to bring about a more equitable end to the pandemic for… Read more: Students for Global COVID-19 Vaccine & Treatment Justice Petition
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to rage in the Global South, an inequitable and vastly insufficient global vaccination effort threatens the lives of people around the world, including in the U.S. Over the last two years, a diverse coalition of groups of public… Read more: Rally at Moderna to Share Science and End COVID
Alan Rossi Silva and Luciana M. N. Lopes represent Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a global student-driven organization in defense of universal access to medicines and a fair biomedical innovation system. Alan is a PhD candidate in Law at the State University… Read more: The ‘Compromise’ Version of the TRIPS Waiver and the Illusion of Victory
March 11 marks the beginning of the third year since the World Health Organization formally declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Join us to demand world leaders stand with people, not Big Pharma, and finally end this pandemic. We must #EndCOVIDMonopolies
Merith Basey, Executive Director for UAEM North America, writes about the harmful role that Emory University has played in the licensing of a publicly-funded treatment, molnupiravir. Click on the link below for the full article in STAT News.
Just last night, we wrapped up our fourth season of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19! We’ve learned so much with our partners at the Center for Artistic Activism (C4AA) and we’ve delivered over 120 creative actions and many more prototypes in the fight… Read more: How to make the impossible possible?
If you’re feeling festive, you can join our teams in delivering this seasonal greeting to Moderna! Get creative with us, adapt the message to Pfizer, Astrazeneca or others! Download the image and tag them on social, sing your own carol (download lyric sheet… Read more: The 12 waves of COVID
Activists, leaders, and supporters gathered in DC to protest the inaction of our administration and put pressure to ensure that a real plan is enacted to vaccinate the world. Millions of people in the Global South still lack access to the vaccine. With… Read more: End Vaccine Apartheid, Vaccinate the World Rally
We’re about to launch our 4th cohort of volunteers with a plan to keep pressure on Moderna to share our public-funded COVID-19 vaccine technology and know-how with the world. We’ll be trying and testing new tactics and we hope you’ll amplify our messages… Read more: KICK OFF for Season 4 of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19!
ALL STAR PANEL speaking truth to power and which heats up fast! UAEM co-founder Amy Kapczynski from Yale Law School is the moderator, Fatima Hassan, South African human rights lawyer and co-founder of Health Justice Initiative, Zain Rizvi of Public Citizen, James Krellenstein… Read more: REQUIRED VIEWING: How to Vaccinate the World!
Dear President Biden, We are writing to you ahead of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to urge that you take on a global leadership role and fulfill your promise of addressing COVID-19 around the world. We understand that… Read more: Urgent Letter to President Biden
The G7 meeting in Cornwall last July failed to meet the expectations of citizens across the world regarding vaccine equity. Ahead of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Rome, on 5-6 September, we now have another opportunity to put an end to vaccine… Read more: Delivering a #PeoplesVaccine
This Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 silliness is taking off on Instagram this week. Know someone who needs this kind of self-care in their wellness regimen?
Better health begins when every citizen has a voice in the public policy decisions that affect their wellbeing. Civic Health Month: a project of Vot-ER Civic Health Month aims to make voting and civic participation accessible to all–particularly those underserved by the healthcare… Read more: August is Civic Health Month!
A week ago, Linda Wan and her husband created this for a big street-art fair in Ann Arbor, Michigan. According to the Wans, the response to their sign was overwhelmingly positive. Families even came up and started applauding the sign!
No one is safe until everyone is safe. Join an action to end the pandemic everywhere! July 14 at 10 am ET Dag Hammarskjold Plaza E. 47th Street, NYC Covid-19 continues to rage across the world. We have less than 10% of the… Read more: Rally to End the Pandemic Everywhere
“To get a better understanding of the problems with vaccine access, I spoke to Tayyiaba Farooq, who is the project manager of the Free the Vaccine Campaign, an international collective of volunteers who are making the case for making vaccines available for everyone.… Read more: Pandemics – There is no “normal” to go back to
The People’s Vaccine campaign wants pharmaceutical companies to drop their patents to help distribute jabs to the billions of people across the world who remain unvaccinated. On the afternoon of the 5th of May, a hundred or so activists gathered for a rally… Read more: The People’s Vaccine Campaign
Check out this video from Intercept talking about the TRIPS Waiver and vaccine divide. There is a special feature of some UAEM members including our founder Amy Kapcyznski, Maanasa Gurham, and a couple other of our UAEM members!
World, we are ready for our close-up! UAEM student advocacy is making its debut on the silver screen! For the last couple of years members of our UAEM community have been followed by a documentary team from Participant Media. The UAEM UCLA chapter lead… Read more: UAEM Goes to Hollywood!
The European Parliament voted in favour of starting negotiations on the TRIPS Waiver! Yesterday, a resolution was adopted with consensus to encourage the European Commission to continue and support the talks in the World Trade Organisation on the TRIPS Waiver. This is a non-binding advice to the… Read more: Negotiations on the TRIPS Waiver
Billions of impoverished people are waiting in line for COVID-19 vaccines, while the virus spreads largely unchecked and mutating rapidly. There is no end in sight anywhere, until everyone, everywhere has access to a safe, free vaccine. Please help us call on Joe Biden to launch a plan… Read more: We Need to Vaccinate the World
Philanthropy Has an Unparalleled Opportunity to Build an Equitable Global Health System — and Vaccinate the World By Priti Krishtel June 2, 2021 During my nearly two decades in public health, I have never seen a moment richer with opportunity to fundamentally rebuild… Read more: Vaccinating the World
With PSI’s leadership and support, we are trying to get over 1000 health workers from India and South Africa to write to the G7 leaders (most importantly Merkel and Johnson) calling on them to support the TRIPS waiver. With the governments of India… Read more: TRIPS Waiver Petition Letter
We finished up Season 3 of Free the Vaccine on May 12! It was an exciting season as the campaign expanded focus from targeting universities to sign the Open Covid Pledge to also pressuring public institutions and officials to support a waiver of… Read more: Season 3 of Free the Vaccine: It’s a wrap!
Global Justice Now is organizing protests outside of AstraZeneca’s Annual General Meeting (head office) in Cambridge and at the company’s second largest UK site in Macclesfield on Tuesday 11 May. These protests are a continuation of the People’s Vaccine Week(s!) of action to… Read more: Rally for a People’s Vaccine at AstraZeneca
It happened. Our movement for vaccine equity saw a huge win when the Biden Administration announced, on May 5, that it would support a waiver of the TRIPS agreement for COVID-19 vaccines at the WTO. It means that the US and other governments–usually… Read more: A win for vaccine equity!
The devastation in India could have been avoided had the TRIPS waiver been passed already. We will continue to see destruction and loss of life on a global scale if we do not make it clear to the Biden Administration that they need… Read more: Call members of Congress and ask them to support the TRIPS waiver
Common Dreams highlighted the week of action in the US calling for the Biden Administration to support a waver of patent monopolies at the World Trade Organization. The week of action in the US is part of the broader People’s Vaccine weeks of… Read more: People’s Shareholder Meeting to Free the Vaccine
The University of Maine’s student newspaper The Maine Campus reported on the Free the Vaccine’s exhibit was on display at the university’s Innovative Media Research and Commercialization Center until April 16. Director of the Intermedia Program Susan Smith said of the exhibit: “We… Read more: Free the Vaccine exhibition moves students to action at UMaine
Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Register now! (Registration is closed)
PRESS RELEASE April 22, 2021 Total pay-outs enough to vaccinate 1.3 billion people, the same as the population of Africa Ahead of shareholder meetings for the giant pharmaceutical corporations, the People’s Vaccine Alliance calculates that Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have paid… Read more: Pharmaceutical giants shell out billions to shareholders as world confronts vaccine apartheid
Please join the Program on Information, Justice and IP at American University for a one year retrospective of the Open COVID Pledge. We will examine the origins of the pledge and the reasons for pledgors to take the pledge, the potential of pledges to… Read more: The Open COVID Pledge at One Year: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
We know governments can do much more to end the global pandemic, including sharing vaccine recipes and helping the world make billions more doses. Join us May 5th in Washington, DC for a Rally for a People’s Vaccine and to call on the… Read more: DC Rally for a People’s Vaccine ! ¡Rally por una vacuna del pueblo (Cinco de Mayo)!
Read the press release Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) released its 2020 U.S. University Report Card: Global Equity and Biomedical Research on March 30. The report card looks at the top sixty research universities in the US and scrutinizes their biomedical research and development… Read more: UAEM 2020 U.S. University Report Card
Read the press release Over the past year, students from Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) have worked to develop a mapping tool that tracks public funding of research and development for COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Developed over the past year during… Read more: UAEM COVID Mapping Tool Tracks Public Spending in COVID-19 Research
April is turning out to be a BIG month for taking action and putting pressure on big pharma and governments (especially rich country governments) in our call for a People’s Vaccine! What’s happening in April? Pharma shareholder meetings and more meetings of the… Read more: People’s Vaccine Week(s!) of Action
On April 8 2020 Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 held it’s first online meeting. Since then we’ve had over 700 people participate in our campaign. We’ve don’e actions all over the world, had some pretty special folks stop by, and kept our eyes… Read more: A whole year of Free the Vaccine!
Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories Performed Live on Zoom One Night Only About this Event Theater of Change Presents Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories Contact Tracing tells ten heartwarming tales that delve into the indomitable human spirit, comradery and love in the… Read more: Contact Tracing: Ten Quarantine Love Stories
Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Register now!
The Free The Vaccine Exhibit – Creativity vs. COVID : Ending The Pandemic for Good – is now being hosted by its first in-person venue at the University of Maine. The intermedia program began hosting the virtual exhibit in February, which built community interest in… Read more: FTV Exhibit at the University of Maine
Big Pharma executives, in their pursuit of profits during a pandemic have had a great 2020, putting profits over people while the pandemic disproportionately affects some of the most vulnerable people among us. To this we say “Thank you Big Pharma for being… Read more: Big Pharma: Best Year Ever
Join Free the Vaccine’s Open Meeting! Come talk with leaders in our campaign about artistic activism for global vaccine equity, actions and events coming soon, and see how you can support the campaign for global COVID-19 vaccine equity. Everyone is welcome! Register now!… Read more: Free the Vaccine Open Meeting!
Standing in global solidarity, activists worldwide took to the streets on March 11 to decry vaccine apartheid and to demand global vaccine equity. Supporters of the People’s Vaccine participated in a rally for global solidarity against vaccine apartheid in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is… Read more: A Global Day of Action for a People’s Vaccine
At the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine Netty Prasetiyani, member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia, called our attention to the human right to health, guaranteed in international law and in the constitutions of many countries. Ms. Prasetiyani called on her… Read more: Netty Prasetiyani calls for waiver of patent monopolies for a People’s Vaccine
Winnnie Byanyima joined the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine delivering a powerful demand for justice and an inspiring call to action for activists across the globe to continue to build people power and pressure their governments in the fight for equitable access… Read more: Winnie Byanyima rallies for a People’s Vaccine!
At the People’s Vaccine Alliance’s Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine Heidi Chow, campaigner for Global Justice Now, spoke about the injustice of vaccine apartheid and the need for governments to support waiving patent monopolies that pharmaceutical corporations have through rules at the World Trade… Read more: Heidi Chow demands an end to vaccine apartheid
Luciana Lopes, Executive Director of UAEM Latin America joined the Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine and highlighted that even though her country, Brazil, has manufacturing capacity they can’t make any vaccines because pharmaceutical companies won’t share their technology and know-how. She issued… Read more: Luciana Lopes Calls for Solidarity in the Fight for a People’s Vaccine
During the People’s Vaccine Alliance March 10 Global Rally Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a message announcing his support for a People’s Vaccine and calling on the Biden administration to take the necessary steps toward global vaccine equity. It is unconscionable that amid a… Read more: Bernie Sanders supports a People’s Vaccine
March 10, the eve of the one year declaration of COVID-19 a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the People’s Vaccine Alliance brought together organizers, activists, and advocates for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for a global rally! Free the Vaccine was excited… Read more: Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine
Could you patent the sun? Check out this track by Free the Vaccine supporter Deonte Keitt aka DJ Chalant created for our campaign. Follow Deonte on instagram: DJChalant and Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DJChalant Free mp3 download This song is released into the Public Domain – no… Read more: Jonas Salk the remix!
OUR BEST CHANCE OF ENDING THIS PANDEMIC is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to Covid-19 vaccines. But pharmaceutical monopolies are restricting supply and rich governments have hoarded doses, leaving countries in the global south waiting up to 2023 for widespread vaccination.… Read more: March 10: Global Rally for a People’s Vaccine!
Join the global day of action on March 11! Online Write to your member of CongressIn the US, ask your member of Congress to join a letter from Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL) urging the Biden administration to support a waiver of COVID-19 patent… Read more: People’s Vaccine Global Day of Action
Free the Vaccine launched it’s next round, Season 3, on February 17. With over 100 participants from across the globe, we are ready to continue the fight for equitable access to COVID-10 vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. This time around, we broaden our strategy… Read more: Season 3 of Free the Vaccine is Underway!
The Free the Vaccine exhibit was covered in the news from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)! Laura Holzman, who curates the exhibit with other FTV members, is an associate professor and public scholar of curatorial practices and visual art at IUPUI. Herron Galleries at… Read more: FTV Exhibit Covered in Indiana University News
The People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on US President Joe Biden and the governments of the UK and EU to use their emergency powers and to leverage their massive public funding to put pressure on Pfizer/ BioNTech, Astra Zeneca, Moderna and other subsequently successful vaccine producers, to openly share their vaccine science and technology, to waive their patents and insist that all other major vaccine producers get involved in production.
Don’t miss this fantastic article co-authored by Free the Vaccine supporter and advocate Dr Reshma Ramachandran today in The Nation. Reshma will also be joining us at 12:30pm for our info session this afternoon, January 27th. Sign up on the home page of… Read more: We already paid for these vaccines once
Join Tayyiaba, Maanasa, Rachel and Merith tomorrow Wednesday January 27th LIVE at 11am via WeActRadio for a show called Community Thru Covid! We’ll be discussing the progress of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 and what’s coming next! This show will be recorded so… Read more: Join FTV on Community Thru Covid
We are gearing up for another round of Free the Vaccine! Even as we see vaccines start to roll out in many countries, access is still not equitable. While rich countries negotiate contracts with pharmaceutical companies to secure doses of the vaccine at… Read more: Join the next round of Free the Vaccine!
When asked if he would encourage the US to join the WHO’s COVID Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) so that NIH-funded COVID technology and know-how can be shared with the world, Dr. Fauci responds, “Yes, yes, yes!” Watch here:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact Joyce-Zoe Farley, Ph.D. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) +1 201.983.3787 Communications@essentialmedicine.org Students and Activists Urge Arizona State University’s President Crow to Sign Open COVID Pledge for a People’s Vaccine WASHINGTON, DC–December 10, 2020 — “…Big Pharma is… Read more: Oh, the Places You’ll Go…With a Free Vaccine
Photo credit: Timoteo Murphy
Wondering how the COVID-19 vaccine is being divided up around the world? Start here.
Read more about the history and science behind mRNA vaccines here!
Washington Post reports that the new frontier of vaccine diplomacy can be characterized by two paths: stockpile or share. While entities like the United States and the European Union have been focusing on stockpiling vaccines for their respective populations, other countries, such as… Read more: To Stockpile or To Share?
Register for a virtual event to learn more about vaccine distribution and equity!
Merith joins Jocelyn from Act.Tv and Alex from Social Security Works to discuss Free the Vaccine and what the new vaccine announcements really mean for global equity. 🔈 Download Audio only: 50MB MP3 file
Image from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative Today, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) announced in a press release that thirteen countries in Africa, along with an international network of research institutions, are launching the largest clinical trial in Africa for… Read more: ANTICOV: A Continental Collaboration
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, more than 100 high-level leaders from public health, faith-based, racial justice, and labor organizations, joined former members of Congress, economists, and artists to sign a public letter calling on President-elect Biden to make the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine a People’s… Read more: PRESIDENT BIDEN: MAKE A PEOPLE’S VACCINE
Kisha Patterson is a historic preservation architect, artist, and activist practicing in Pittsburgh, PA. She is grateful for the health and safety of her children and urges everyone to demand a People’s Vaccine and sign the Open Covid Pledge. She has been volunteering… Read more: “Vilomah:” An Essay by Kisha Patterson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, DC–October 9, 2020–Moderna announced yesterday, under pressure from civil society groups including Free The Vaccine for COVID-19 and its allies in their calls for a People’s Vaccine, that it will not enforce patent protections on the pending coronavirus vaccine mRNA-1273.… Read more: UAEM Press Release: Moderna Should Free All COVID-19 IP
Image from Suzanne Kreiter via The Boston Globe First, last week brought news that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine had reported 90% efficacy. Then, we heard news from another top contender for the vaccine, Moderna, who reported 94.5% efficacy for their vaccine. Finally, Pfizer… Read more: The Future: An Uneven Burden of COVID-19
with your host, Tessa Marshall.
Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 participant, Caitlin Berrigan, has an essay published in the journal March titled “Atmospheres of the Undead: living with viruses, loneliness, and neoliberalism.” In it she talks about how living with Hepatitis C “reveals the structural inequalities of profit-oriented… Read more: Atmospheres of the Undead by Caitlin Berrigan
Image Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters/Washington Post “Megan McArdle was correct that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the drug development system is working. What she didn’t mention is that the system is working as it was designed: to maximize monopoly profits for the pharmaceutical industry.” Universities Allied for… Read more: Aly Bancroft: Pharma’s Billions Sprang from the Taxpayer Dime
Check out this interview with one of our Season 1 and 2 participants: Dannie Synder!
18 producers of generic medicines signed on to an agreement by the Medicines Patent Pool in order to expedite access to COVID-19 health technologies. Read more here.
Today, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine candidate offers 90% protection. Read more on what this news means for vaccine access here.
The Gates Foundation has often been applauded for their contributions to global research and development. Read an in-depth analysis from Health Policy Watch here.
Wondering what the participants in Season 2 of Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 have been up to? Read more here.
The Duke Global Health Innovation Effort launched in order to track vaccine manufacturing deals that have been developed by countries all over the world. Read more here.
Check out the work of our Season 2 Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 participants from Australia in the following video!
Last week, the U.S. government finally released the contract it made with Moderna in August for vaccine manufacturing and distribution. As with most documents of public interest released by this administration, the contract is heavily redacted. Moderna Therapeutics holds one of the current… Read more: Transparency and the Vaccine
For almost an entire year now, all eyes have been focusing on research to find a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19. What are these clinical trials really measuring? Peter Doshi of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports that the current Phase III… Read more: What the Current COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Cannot Tell Us
Photos courtesy of Timoteo Murphy!
According to Global Citizen, researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) in South Africa have recently launched a trial to test to see if a vaccine given for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) can serve… Read more: South Africa, COVID-19, and the MMR Vaccine