Fight Vaccine Inequity.
End the Pandemic.

Fight Vaccine Inequity.
End the Pandemic.

No one in any country will be safe until the entire world has access to the vaccines, treatments and tests needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

While COVID-19 vaccination rates soar in the U.S., most people in low-income countries have not had their first shot. Instead of enjoying a return to normal life, they face terrifying new waves of preventable sickness and death.

Outbreaks anywhere mean new COVID-19 variants can develop. The whole world can end up back in lockdown, and those of us who have had vaccines can be at risk again unless we win the global race of vaccines against variants. 

That’s why we are fighting for an emergency waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. These so-called “TRIPS” rules grant monopoly rights to Big Pharma companies that are hindering the world’s ability to produce enough vaccines and other materials to end the pandemic.

A “TRIPS waiver” is needed to allow COVID vaccines, treatments and diagnostics to be produced in as many places as possible as quickly as possible.

In May, The Biden administration reversed Trump’s waiver blockage after two million-plus activists petitioned the White House and engaged Congress with tens of thousands of letters and dozens of meetings with representatives.
With more than 130 countries worldwide, including the U.S., supporting the waiver, the European Union stands almost alone in blocking progress on behalf of Big Pharma.
Big Pharma lobbyists are swarming world capitals to kill, weaken or delay the waiver. Big Pharma spent a record $92 million on U.S. lobbying in the first quarter of 2021.
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CONGRESS AGREES: The world needs more vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatments now.

"Our work as a nation is not over until the pandemic has been stopped in all corners of the world."
Rep. Katherine Clarke(MA-05)
Rep. Katherine Clarke
"Thank you to everyone who joined efforts to push for this policy and bridge the vaccine divide."
Rep. Ro Khanna(CA-17)
Rep. Ro Khanna
"It is clearer than ever that the fate of our own health and safety in the United States is inextricably connected to the wellbeing and protection of the most vulnerable among us worldwide.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal(WA-07)
Rep. Pramila Jayapal
"As a world leader, we must lead the charge in making sure everyone has equal access to the vaccine. That is the promise President Biden ran on, and I am thrilled he has lived up to that promise."
Rep. Ilhan Omar(MN-05)
Rep. Ilhan Omar
"A pandemic is not the time to fuss over intellectual property rights; it is a time to come together and crush the virus around the world."
Rep. Chuy García(IL-04)
Rep. Chuy García
"The TRIPS waiver will allow sharing of the intellectual property required for vaccine manufacturing to get underway immediately, and we applaud the Biden Administration’s support of it in the WTO."
Rep. Barbara Lee(CA-13)
Rep. Barbara Lee
"Accelerating the production and distribution of life-saving vaccines across the globe is both a moral imperative and an urgent necessity to crush the virus pandemic and prevent the spread of more virulent coronavirus variants."
Speaker Nancy Pelosi(CA-12)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
"The best way to end the deadly global vaccine shortage is to enable more manufacturers to make vaccines."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett(TX-35)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
"An intellectual property waiver is an important step to enable other countries to manufacture vaccines, ramp up global vaccine supply, and defeat COVID-19."
Rep. Adam Smith(WA-09)
Rep. Adam Smith
"I remember how much excitement and optimism I felt when I watched the very first Pfizer vaccines leave Portage in December. Now, we need to make sure that these life-saving vaccines are available to people all over the world."
Rep. Elissa Slotkin(MI-08)
Rep. Elissa Slotkin
“This is something I urged the Administration to do because it will significantly ramp up production.”
Rep. John Larson(CT-01)
Rep. John Larson
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To end the pandemic, it is critical that an emergency TRIPS waiver is:

Comprehensive.

Waiving all intellectual property barriers for all COVID-19-related medical technologies, including tests and treatments — not just vaccines.

Swift.

We need this waiver in a matter of weeks, not months. The Trump administration caused enough delays.

Long-lasting.

The suspension of Big Pharma monopoly rights has to be long enough to incentivize and sustain increases in manufacturing capacity worldwide until COVID-19 is crushed.

A comprehensive TRIPS waiver will save countless lives and help end the pandemic.