(ANSA) - ROME, NOVEMBER 21 - A new study carried out by the International Popular Alliance for Vaccines, which includes Oxfam and Emergency, among others, reveals how rich countries have already secured triple the doses of the anti-Covid antiviral Paxlovid produced by Pfizer was recommended by the WHO for low- and middle-income countries, despite representing just 16% of the world's population.
The two non-profit organizations report it, specifying that for the current year Italy has optioned 600,000 treatments of Paxlovid, even if so far it has used just over 82,000.
Only a quarter of the orders are destined for middle- and low-income countries, the organizations explain, while the percentage of the population vaccinated is still below 20% in poor countries and over 74% in rich ones.
In view of the meeting of the World Trade Organization for the extension of the agreement on the suspension of patents, scheduled for tomorrow in Geneva, Oxfam and EMERGENCY are launching an urgent appeal to the member states, "so that they immediately agree on an extension of the derogation on intellectual property rules which includes treatments and tests, such as to allow developing countries to produce for their own citizens and to export, guaranteeing essential treatments at contained prices".
"In the first phase of the pandemic, putting the economic interests of the pharmaceutical sector first without limiting the rights related to the protection of intellectual property caused a huge inequality in access to vaccines between rich and poor countries, which has cost millions of lives. Now the same scheme is being proposed for antiviral treatments - said Sara Albiani, policy advisor on global health of Oxfam Italy and Rossella Miccio, president of Emergency -
Once again Pfizer holds a monopoly that prevents the poorest countries from accessing treatments, essential for saving human lives and reducing the impact of the pandemic on already fragile health systems".
(HANDLE).