Quebec is a nation proud of its traditions of solidarity. On December 2, the members of the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously adopted a motion in favor of a suspension of the international rules governing patents on vaccines against COVID-19. Such a suspension would speed up the production and distribution of vaccines in developing countries. Coming from a province that has several pharmaceutical companies, this position taken by the National Assembly is bold and significant.
More than 77% of the population of Quebec is fully vaccinated. However, this proportion is only 7% for the African continent. As the deputies of the National Assembly correctly noted, “inequalities constitute a brake on the reduction of the pandemic threat, in all countries of the world”. As long as vaccination is deficient in developing countries, the risks of the emergence of new variants will remain high.
Now, it is the federal government’s turn to show the same political courage as the National Assembly. More specifically, the federal government must take two concrete steps.
First, it must amend Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) to include the vaccines, drugs, tests and other pharmaceuticals needed to fight COVID-19. This regime allows the production and export of low-cost pharmaceutical products to developing countries in health emergencies, without waiting for the authorization of patent holders.
When this regime was adopted in 2004, it was supported by all federal political parties as well as by the Canadian pharmaceutical industry. This scheme is however limited to a list of 56 pharmaceutical products. However, COVID-19 vaccines are still not included.
The Canadian company Biolyse Pharma says it is already ready to produce a generic version of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and Bolivia has expressed interest in importing these generic vaccines. With a simple stroke of the pen, the Cabinet can expand the list of drugs and create the conditions favorable to such an export from Canada to Bolivia. This would in no way reduce access to vaccines in Canada and Johnson & Johnson would receive fair compensation for the use of its patent by Biolyse Pharma.
Second, the federal government must support the temporary suspension of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on COVID-19 vaccine patents. Canada is one of the last WTO member countries not to speak out clearly on the issue. In addition to almost all developing countries, France and the United States support this initiative. Canada must join together urgently since this suspension can only be adopted if there is consensus among all the member countries of the WTO.
The suspension of WTO patent rules is not a panacea. For this suspension to be optimally effective, Canada must insist that it be accompanied by a transfer of know-how and equipment to developing countries. Many countries would have the capacity to produce vaccines if they had the freedom to do so and if they benefited from our support.
Neither of these two measures will have immediate effects on vaccination campaigns. However, the pandemic will be raging for a long time to come. New variants will emerge and new pharmaceuticals will be developed. The federal government must act now to save lives in the years to come.
Taxpayers in rich countries have largely funded the development of new vaccines through public research, grants and promises to purchase. These same taxpayers can legitimately insist that people in developing countries also have access to vaccines.
We are all in the same boat and we all have a role to play. As our children get vaccinated and some of us get a third dose, let’s do one more gesture to help others, whether they live in Bolivia or in Africa: let us remind our federal deputies loud and clear that the access to vaccines in developing countries is also one of our priorities. Let us instill in them the political courage they must show.