Over 200 Scientists & Civil Society Groups Urge Biden to Scale-Up mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing
Over 200 Scientists & Civil Society Groups Urge Biden to Scale-Up mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing
Dear President Biden,
Despite significant progress in the United States (US), the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten lives and security across the globe. Without urgent and immediate scale up of vaccine production and distribution, millions more will be infected and die. The emergence of the Delta variant is resulting in a surge in increasing infection rates in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where vaccines are least available. This highlights the risk of newer, emerging variants, some of which may turn out to be resistant to current vaccines, which will threaten the progress made to date on the pandemic in the US and elsewhere. The time is now for ambitious leadership to vaccinate the world.
The need to be on a “wartime footing” to secure the world against this pandemic viral threat is paramount. Any global COVID vaccination program must be structured to address multiple interlinked priorities. First, the manufacturing capacity of mRNA vaccines in the US must be rapidly scaled up to reach approximately 4 billion people by the end of 2021. The US government has the capacity and the authority to act now and expand current manufacturing facility capacity as well as to develop mRNA vaccine manufacturing facilities, particularly as funding for this effort is already allocated by Congress. Second, it is equally important at the same time to use technology transfer and financing support to allow for further scale up of vaccine manufacturing capacity in all regions of the world. The latter will address the anticipated need for continued COVID-19 vaccination efforts, as well as prepare for the next potential pandemic.
Specifically, the US government should:
Commit to establishing 8 billion doses per year of mRNA vaccine capacity within six months using existing federal resources. A plan for this should be announced within one month.
While multiple types of vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective and will have an important role to play in global vaccination efforts; to date, mRNA vaccines have proven to be faster and more reliable to produce than other vaccine technologies and are more effective against current variants. The U.S. investment in the development of mRNA vaccines, along with its co-ownership of the patents of this new technology, make mRNA vaccines the best first choice for the US role in global scale up. Based on past experience, newly retrofitted US owned facilities can be on-line to produce large numbers of doses within six months. Initial federal funding already allocated by Congress can help support this task.
Simultaneously, the US government should develop and implement training and technology transfer for the development and manufacture of mRNA and other vaccines in hubs around the world. Such training and tech transfer can begin immediately in the U.S.-based facilities, at the proposed WHO-supported hub in South Africa, at facilities in India that can be quickly retrofitted for mRNA production capacity or at other locations (e.g., in South Korea). The US government should also compel originators to transfer technology and, in collaboration with other governments, provide financing for vaccine manufacturing around the world.
The United States should explore all legal options to compel mRNA manufacturing originators to share technology and voluntarily license their technology to contract manufacturers around the world, including mRNA manufacturing hubs. Funding, along with international partners, should also be allocated to scale up manufacturing hubs around the world. In addition, training at USG owned facilities could be used to seed the manufacturing hubs. We cannot pursue one strategy alone and need to operate on multiple fronts and creating new capacity in the US and abroad at the same time is the most sustainable way forward.
Begin immediate export of vaccine doses — within one week — to COVAX or through other international distribution mechanisms — of at least 10 million doses per week.
The United States currently has over 55 million doses of mRNA vaccines in storage, while only vaccinating approximately 900,000 people per day. At this rate, it would take over two months to administer just the vaccine doses currently stored. Despite this, mRNA vaccine manufacturers are delivering over 17 million new doses each week to jurisdictions across the US. Ten million excess doses could be immediately donated each week, while ensuring that the nation’s mRNA vaccine dose stockpile remains constant in size.
We urge you to act now. Announcing within the next 30 days an ambitious global vaccine manufacturing program is the only way to control this pandemic, protect the precious gains made to date, and build vaccine infrastructure for the future.
Signatories
Individuals:
Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, Professor, Yale School of Public Health; Adjunct Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Co-Director, Global Health Justice Partnership; Co-Director, Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency
Amy Kapczynski, Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Co-Director, Global Health Justice Partnership; Co-Director, Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency; Co-Director, Law and Political Economy Project; Co-Founder, Law and Political Economy Blog
Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive Officer, Resolve to Save Lives
Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Strategist, Partners in Health; Chair, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chief, Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham Women’s Hospital
Linda P Fried, MD, MPH, Dean, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health; DeLamar Professor of Public Health Practice, Senior Vice President, Columbia University Medical Center
Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, Dean, Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, Yale School of Public Health; Professor of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine
Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, University Professor of Epidemiology & Medicine, Dr. Mathilde Krim-amfAR Chair of Global Health, Columbia University; Director, ICAP
Stephen Gloyd, MD, MPH, Professor, Global Health, Health Services, Epidemiology, Family Medicine, Industrial Systems Engineering, University of Washington; Associate Director, University of Washington, Department of Global Health; Founder, Health Alliance International
Judd Walson, MD, MPH, Vice Chair & Professor of Global Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health; Professor of Medicine (Allergy & Infectious Diseases), Professor, Pediatrics, Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Washington
Ann Kurth, PhD, CNM, MPH, FAAN, Dean & the Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing, Yale School of Nursing, Yale University
Larry Corey, MD, President and Director Emeritus, Fred Hutch; Fred Hutch Professor Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutch Professor Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch Professor Public Health Sciences Division, University of Washington
Carlos Del Rio, MD, Executive Associate Dean, Emory School of Medicine & Grady Health System; Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine; Professor, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health; Co-Director, Emory Center for AIDS Research
Saad Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FIDSA, Director and Professor, Yale Institute for Global Health; Associate Dean (Global Health Research), Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Yale School of Medicine; Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, FAAP, Professor, Boston College; Director, Program for Global, Public health and the Common Good
Rebecca Zash, MD, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; Co-Director, Placental Scientific Working Group, Harvard University Center for AIDS Research
Quentin Eichbaum, MD, PhD, MPH, MFA, MBA, Professor & Program Director, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Director, Vanderbilt Pathology Program in Global Health
Judith Wasserheit, MD, MPH, Chair & Professor of Global Health, Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Kenneth Mayer, MD, Medical Research Director & Co-Chair, The Fenway Institute; Professor, Harvard Medical School
Els Torreele, PhD, Visiting Fellow, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
Suhaib Siddiqi, MD, MSc, PhD, Former Director of Chemistry, Moderna Therapeutics Inc.
James Krellenstein, Co-Founder, PrEP4All
Christian Urrutia, Co-Founder, PrEP4All
Mitchell Warren, Executive Director, AVAC
Sheila Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Partners In Health
Zoltan Kis, PhD, Research Associate, Imperial College London
Nikole Allen, MPH, Senior Program Director, Yale Institute for Global Health
Loren Galvao, MD, MPH, Senior Scientist, Global Health, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Colleve of Nursing Center for Global Health Equity; Honorary Fellow, Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
David Barr, Fremont Center
Soham Sankaran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pashi/PopVax
Joseph Williams, MPH Candidate, Yale School of Public Health
Ulysses Burley, MD, MPH, Founder, UBtheCURE LLC
Stephaun E. Wallace, PhD, MS, Staff Scientist, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutch; Director of External Relations, HIV Vaccine Trials Network, Fred Hutch; Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health, University of Washington
Shahin Lockman, MD, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Steven Shea, MD, MS, Hamilton Southworth Professor of Medicine, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
Rajesh Gandhi, MD, Director, HIV Clinical Services and Education, Massachusetts General Hospital; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Tecla Temu, MD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Lisa Rosenbaum, MD, National Correspondent, New England Journal of Medicine
Miriam Sabin, MS, PhD, Senior Editor, The Lancet
Gregory Whitman, MBBS, LLM, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, Blended Value Health
Donna Patterson, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy, Delaware State University
Tawanda Marufu, MD, MSc, DPH, Centre for Public Health Development
Nader Hijazi, MD, FCCP, Abdali Hospital
Amra Uzicanin, MD, MPH, FIDSA
Nagesh Borse, EIS, PhD, MS, MA, Director Global Health, US Pharmacopeia
Amina Khawja, MPH, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, AARP Foundation
Richard Jorgensen, MS, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona
Penny Kessler, MPH, CHES, Contact Tracer, St Clair County Health Department
Jonathan Hursh, Founding Partner, Utopia
Alex Esteves Jaramillo, MPH, Senior Principal Scientist, Vaccine Clinical Development, Merck
Keith Martin, MD, PC, Executive Director, CUGH
Kirkby Tickell, MBBS, MPH, Research Scientist, University of Washington
Ann Van Haney, MBA, Research Administrator, University of Washington
Amy Roll, MPH, Data Analyst, University of Washington
Keshet Ronen, PhD, MPH, Acting Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Katherine Rankin, MPA, Managing Director, Global Center for Integrated Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children, University of Washington
Bryan Verity, Director of Human Resources, International Training and Education Center for Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Jennifer Gilvydis, MPH, Business Development Associate, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Zarna Marfatia, Research Coordinator, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Emily Yoshioka, MPH, Research Coordinator, Gut Health and Child Survival, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Christina Sherry, MPH, Research Coordinator, Gut Health and Child Survival, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Casey Iiams-Hauser, Senior Digital Health Specialist, lead for OpenELIS Global, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Kayla Cody, Program Officer, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Frances Petracca, PhD, Research Scientist & Clinical Instructor, International Training and Education Center for Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Lisa Querido, MPH, Technical Officer, Capacity Building and Training Development, International Training & Education Center for Health, University of Washington
Susan Mello, EMPA, Associate Director, Center for AIDS Research, University of Washington
Alex McGee, Managing Director, Global Health E-Learning Program
Julie Brunett, Assistant Director, Academic Programs Student Services, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Misti McDowell, MPA, Program Director, InternationalAIDS Education and Training Center, International Training & Education Center for Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Caitlin Scoville, MPH, International Research Manager, International Clinical Research Center, University of Washington
Julia Dettinger, MPH, Research Scientist, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Deborah Confer, Program Manager, International Training & Education Center for Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Sonora Stampfly, MPH, Program Coordinator, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Hailey Bednar, MPH, Emergency Response Specialist, CDC Foundation
Anupa Fabian, PhD, MPA, Program Evaluator, Health & Human Services
Alexander Lankowski, MD, Infectious Diseases Physician-Researcher, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington
Wilmot James, PhD, Senior Research Scholar, ISERP; Interim Chair, Center for Pandemic Research, Columbia University
Mariana Mazzucato, PhD, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
Virginia Gonzales, MSW, MPH, EdD, Senior Lecturer Emeritus, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Chloe Morozoff, MPH, Implementation Science Research Consultant, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Aaron Lord, MD, MSc, Chief of Neurology, NYU Langone-Brooklyn; Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, NYU Langone School of Medicine; Co-Founder, PrEP4All
Moisés Agosto-Rosario, Director of Treatment, NMAC
Joseph Osmundson, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Biology, New York University
David Gold, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Global Health Strategies
Andrew Goldstein, MD, Assistant Professor, NYU School of Medicine; Progressive Doctors
Udom Likhitwonnawut, Member, Thailand NCAB
Peter van Rooijen, Board member, Joep Lange Institute
Zachary Harvanek, MD, PhD, Psychiatry Resident, Yale University, Department of Psychiatry
Carl Sciortino, MPA, Executive Vice President of External Relations, Fenway Health
George Brown, MD, MPH, Self-employed
Julius Kachidza, Member, Network of ARV Users
Amanda Lugg, Director of Advocacy and LGBTQ Programming, African Services Committee
Veronica Noseda, Operational Research Project Manager, L’Initiative/Expertise France
Simon Collins, HIV i-Base
Karyn Kaplan, MA, Executive Director, Asia Catalyst
Edwin Bernard, Executive Director, HIV Justice Network
Paul Kasonkomona, Executive Director, Centre for Tolerance and Peace
Filippo Schloesser, Chair, Nadir onlus
Luís Mendão, President, Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos
Bill Lober, MD, MS, Professor, Global Health, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics, Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Nancy Jecker, PhD, Professor of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine; Fulbright U.S. Scholar for South Africa
Indi Trehan, MD, MPH, DTMH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Adjunct Professor of Global Health, Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of Washington
Alison Roxby, MD, MSc, Associate Professor, Global Health, Medicine – Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Melissa Mugambi, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Global Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Kelli O’Laughlin, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Global Health, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Grace John-Stewart, MD, MPH, PhD, Professor, Global Health, Epidemiology, Medicine – Allergy & Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics, University of Washington
Adrienne Shapiro, MD, PhD, Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health, Medicne – Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Washington
Michael Skonieczny, MPA, Deputy Director, Yale Institute for Global Health
Jorge Beloqui, Secretary of the Board, GIV
James Pfeiffer, PhD, MPH, Professor, Global Health, Anthropology, Health Services, University of Washington, Department of Global Health; Executive Director, Health Alliance International
Leslie Goo, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Michael Arndt, PhD, MPH, Research Scientist, IHME, University of Washington
Adam Akullian, PhD, Affiliate Associate Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Karen Levy, PhD, MPH, MSc, Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Public Health
Yunda Huang, PhD, Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Affiliate Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Global Health
Pamela Kohler, PhD, MPH, RN, Associate Professor, Global Health, Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing, University of Washington Department of Global Health
Marilyn Parsons, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Sara Curran, PhD, MS, Professor, Director Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, University of Washington
Pradip Rathod, PhD, Professor, University of Washington, Department of Chemistry
Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Partners In Health; Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School,
K. J. Seung, MD, Associate Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Joseph Rhatigan, MD, Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Bram Wispelwey, MD, Senior Technical Lead, Partners In Health
Emily Wroe, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor, COVID response; Associate Physician, Partners In Health; Brigham & Women’s Hospital; Harvard Medical School
Jane Simoni, PhD, Professor, Global Health, Psychology, Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, University of Washington
Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, Chief, Global Public Health Strategy, The Rockefeller Foundation
Ruanne Barnabas, DPhil, MSc, Professor, Global Health, Medicine – Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Adjunct Epidemiology; University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Michelle Averill, PhD, RD, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Washington
Judit Marsillach, PhD, Acting Assistant Professor, Medical Genetics, University of Washington
Terrance Kavanagh, PhD, Professor, University of Washington, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences; Associate Director, University of Washington Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics and Environment
Abraham Flaxman, PhD, Associate Professor, Global Health, Health Metrics Sciences University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Terry Gordon, PhD, Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU Langone Health
Suzinne Pak-Gorstein, PhD, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Pediatrics – General Pediatrics, Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Health, University of Washington; Advisor, International Rescue Committee
Anjuli Wagner, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Prakash Tyagi, MD, Clinical Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health; Executive Director, GRAVIS
Annette Ghee, PhD, MPH, Affiliate Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Sara Schwanke Khilji, MD, MPH, FACP, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University; Assistant Professor, Oregon Health & Science University School of Public Health; Internal Medicine Director, Botwsana Global Health Program, Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership
Giampaolo Rossi, Forum AIDS Italia
Anthony Feliciano, Executive Director, Commission on the Public’s Health System
Anne Mitchell, Board Member, Commission on the Public’s Health System
Anne Bove, RN, Board Member, Commission on the Public’s Health System
Teresita Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer, Apicha Community Health Center
Catherine Hankins, PhD, MD, MS, Professor, School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Pooja Gala, MD, Assistant Professor, New York University, Grossman School of Medicine
Beth Rivin, MD, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington, Department of Global Health; President & Chief Executive Officer, Uplift International
Kathleen Powers, Board Member, Northside Action for Justice
Salvador Campos Correa, Caminhos PositHIVos
Rouzeh Eghtessadi, MPH, Executive Director, SAfAIDS
Merith Basey, MSc, Executive Director, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines
Ben Levenson, Deputy Director, Justice is Global
Salmaan Keshavjee, MD, PhD, ScM, Director, Center for Global Health Delivery; Professor, Global Health & Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Mercedes Becerra, ScD, Professor, Global Health & Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Robert Lawrence, MD, MACP, Center for a Livable Future Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Will Fenton, Senior Campaigns Advisor, Oxfam America
Veronika Wirtz, PhD, MSc, Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
Deborah Gleeson, MPH, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
Suhayl Omar, Campaign Lead, People’s Vaccine Kenya
Praman Adhikari, Advocacy and Campaign Officer, South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
Rachel Thrasher, JD, Researcher, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University
Gerard van Mourik, Co-Executive Director, GNP+
Max Hadler, MPH, MA, COVID-19 Senior Policy Expert, Physicians for Human Rights
Cate Oswald, Chief Policy and Partnership Officer, Partners In Health
Mary T. Bassett, MD, MPH, Professor, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
Regan Marsh, MD, MPH, Director of Clinical Systems, Partners In Health
Brook Baker, Senior Policy Analyst, Health GAP (Global Access Project); Professor, Northeastern University School of Law
Michael Helms, Senior Advisor, Government Relations, Oxfam America
Patricia Asero Ochieng, Executive Director, DACASA
Erick Okioma, Chief of the Party, Nelson Mandela TB HIV Community Information and Resource Center CBO Kisumu
Chikosa Banda, University of Malawi
Martha Akello, Programme Manager Media for Social Change, Refugee Law Project
Fatima Hassan, LLM, Director, Health Justice Initiative (HJI), South Africa
Vuyiseka Dubula, Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management
Othoman Mellouk, Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines Lead, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition ITPC
Primah Kwagala, Director, Women’s Probono Initiative-Uganda
Michelle Benes, MS
Raúl Ramírez, INSP
Jayne Nyirenda, MSc
Dolores Pino, Attorney at Law
Brittany Allen, Grants Specialist
Patricia Beaumont-Owyang
Patricia Hudelson
Juan Espinosa
Joshua Mugala
Katia Kayayan
Chris Vakkur
Stephen Parent
Nina Ruymaker
Bridget Mwewa
Organizations:
PrEP4All
Yale Global Health Justice Partnership
AVAC
Public Citizen
Partners In Health
Oxfam America
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
Resolve to Save Lives
Physicians for Human Rights
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
University of Washington, Department of Global Health
Fenway Health
Uplift International
Pashi
UBtheCURE LLC
Blended Value Health
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
Centre for Public Health Development
NMAC
Progressive Doctors
Thailand NCAB
Joep Lange Institute
African Services Committee
HIV i-Base
Asia Catalyst
HIV Justice Network
Nadir onlus
Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos
GIV
ACT UP New York
GRAVIS
Forum AIDS Italia
Commission on the Public’s Health System
Apicha Community Health Center
Caminhos PositHIVos
SAfAIDS
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines
Free the Vaccine for COVID-19
Justice is Global
People’s Vaccine Kenya
South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE)
GNP+
International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC)
Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network On HIV & AIDS (KELIN)
DACASA
Nelson Mandela TB HIV Community Information and Resource Center CBO Kisumu
Center for Education, Graduate Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (C4Gee)
Health Justice Initiative (HJI), South Africa
Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management
Foundation for Male Engagement Uganda (FOME)
Women’s Probono Initiative-Uganda