Statement: Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson Must Share Vaccine Recipes
Public Citizen Welcomes Gayle Smith’s Support for Vaccine Knowledge Sharing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Global COVID-19 Response Coordinator Gayle Smith today urged Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to share technology with manufacturers in developing countries as part of an effort to boost global vaccine production in the near term through regional manufacturing hubs. Public Citizen previously has called on the Biden administration to support regional hubs, exercise its rights in the NIH-Moderna vaccine and invest $25 billion to produce eight billion doses of mRNA vaccine within one year. Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, issued the following statement:
“The U.S. government has power to share vaccine manufacturing knowledge and help other countries scale up production and finally end this pandemic. Millions of people have lost their lives waiting for such desperately needed action.
“We are heartened by Smith’s support for regional production hubs and by her call for drug manufacturers to share vaccine technology. If the U.S. government acts swiftly, it can help save hundreds of thousands of lives and stem the spread of variants.
“Moderna and Pfizer’s resistance to sharing the knowledge needed for countries to make vaccines is unforgivable. President Joe Biden has authority under existing law to order the sharing of vaccine recipes. Congress should also support a $25 billion urgent global vaccine manufacturing program, to help bring the hubs online and produce billions more doses within a year.”