Indian coronavirus outbreak shows Australia is on the wrong side of the global fight over vaccine access – ABC News

"India is literally gasping for oxygen,"Health Minister Greg Hunt said, beforeannouncingthat the Morrison government wouldquickly send donations of ventilators, masks, goggles and gloves to the country.

The announcement came as India faced a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths, with hospitals overrun, oxygen in high demand, and vaccines in short supply.

Closer to home, Australia recentlydonated8,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to neighbouring Papua New Guinea,strugglingwith its ownoutbreakand with only 500 doctors and fewer than 4,000 nursesto carry the load.

These donations are helpful but they alone are not an effective long-term strategy to fight COVID-19.

What India, Papua New Guinea and many other countries in the developing world need urgently is the ability to make more of their own vaccines, treatmentsand testing kits.

Right now, Australia is on the wrong side of the global tussle over access to the intellectual property to make COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

Australia has not supported an Indian and South African proposal at the World Trade Organization that seeks to waive some intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and other medical products.

India's coronavirus surge has broken records, but the numbers reported are widely expected to be under representative of the actual figures.

Known as the "TRIPS waiver",since it seeks to adjust terms of the agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the proposal is backed by more than 100 mostly developing countries.

A small number of countries are stonewalling the proposal, including the United States, the EU and the UK.

Although other factors affect global supply, if this waiver was accepted it would untie the hands of producers everywhere, allowing them to contribute to efforts to massively scale up manufacturing of desperately needed tests, treatments and vaccines worldwide.

Instead of debating about how to ration vaccines better or more equitably, we could be rationing less.

If the TRIPS waiver had been adopted last October when it was first proposed, it could already be giving low and middle-income countries like India the ability to expand the production of life-saving medical products.

The devastating images coming from India over the past few weeks prove that Australia ignores this at its own peril. In this common goal of ending the worst pandemic in a century, no-one is safe until everyone is safe.

Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images

Recognising the unprecedented nature of the crisis we face, Australian scientists and Nobel LaureatesPeter DohertyandElizabeth Blackburnrecentlyjoinedthe chorus demanding support for a TRIPS waiver, echoingformerworld leaders, USpoliticians, the head of theWorld Health Organization, faith leaders likePopeFrancis, and hundreds ofcivil society organisationsfrom around the world.

From free oxygen tanks andfood drives, to freeing up space formakeshift hospitals, many are helping the needy during India's overwhelming COVID crisis.

Like many other wealthy countries, Australiaprebookedfar more doses than it needed to cover its population of 25 million, placing orders totalling144milliondoses with multiple manufacturers.

In the past few weeks, wealthy countries includingFrance,New ZealandSpainand theUShave begun to donate some of these "surplus" doses to countries in need of vaccines.

The sooner we increase global vaccine supply, the sooner all countries can stop competing against each other for a vaccine supply and can co-operate and even share.

As a part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the heads of government of the US, Australia, Japan and India announced a jointplanto boost vaccine manufacturing and address delivery gaps in the region.

As a part of this effort, in which American vaccines will be manufactured in Indian factories with Japanese financial support, Australia promised $100 million focused on "last mile" distribution in South-East Asia.

Unfortunately, in the face of yawninginequitiesin global access, these kinds of charitable measures won't be enough.

In Australia, where there is limited community spread of the virus, about5 per cent of the populationhas been vaccinated, but that ratio drops to1 in 500in poorer countries. In many countries around the world even front-line health workers may need to wait months for their shot.

The World Trade Organization meets again on the issue in Geneva on Wednesday.

It is not too late for Australia to change course and finally listen to leading experts and elected representatives, by announcing support for the TRIPS waiver.

Akshaya Kumar is crisis advocacy director at Human Rights Watch

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Indian coronavirus outbreak shows Australia is on the wrong side of the global fight over vaccine access - ABC News