<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><i class="">Here are some of the initial statements. The CTC statement circulated earlier is </i><a href="https://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/bidens-support-for-trips-waiver-unquestionably-the-right-thing-to-do/" class="">online here</a><i class="">.</i><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="800" style="width: 600pt; background-color: white; padding: 0in; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;" class=""><div align="center" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="padding: 0.75pt;" class=""><div align="center" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 600pt; border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="padding: 0in;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 798px; border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td width="800" valign="top" style="width: 600pt; padding: 0.75pt;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left" style="max-width: 600pt; 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line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr id="id_8d4744a2-8e11-420e-8686-c377439c2a14" class=""><td style="padding: 0in; overflow: auto;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" id="id_8d392721-d69e-4002-ba90-00e0597e00eb" style="width: 798px; border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr style="overflow: auto;" class=""><td width="800" valign="top" id="id_4ccff556-16ee-4510-9fb5-f759889d4e61" style="width: 600pt; padding: 0.75pt;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left" style="max-width: 600pt; border-collapse: collapse; overflow: auto;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="padding: 0in; overflow: auto;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 796px; border-collapse: collapse; display: table-row;"><tbody class=""><tr style="display: table-cell; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; background-size: cover; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden auto; background-attachment: scroll; float: none; background-position: 50% 50%;" class=""><td valign="top" style="padding: 0in; overflow-x: auto;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 795px; border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td valign="top" style="border: 1pt solid white; padding: 12pt;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class=""> Biden Administration Reverses Trump’s Self-Defeating Blockage of Temporary COVID-19 Waiver of WTO Intellectual Property Barriers <o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">U.S. Joins 100-Plus WTO Countries Supporting Waiver, Calls for More Production of Vaccines Worldwide to End Extreme COVID-19 Vaccine Shortage <o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 9pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">For Immediate Release:<br class="">May 5, 2021 <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 9pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Contact: Matthew Groch, </span><a href="mailto:mgroch@citizen.org" style="color: blue;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" class="">mgroch@citizen.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">, (202) 454-5111<br class="">Mike Stankiewicz, </span><a href="mailto:mstankiewicz@citizen.org" style="color: blue;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" class="">mstankiewicz@citizen.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">, (202) 588-7742 <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 9pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 21px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Biden administration announced it would support a temporary waiver of intellectual property (IP) barriers to facilitate more production of COVID-19 vaccines and would enter into textual negotiations on a World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver proposal initiated by South Africa and India. The announcement comes after intensive U.S. and global campaigning. <strong class="">Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, issued the following statement:</strong><br class=""> <br class="">“Thank you, President Biden and USTR Katherine Tai, for prioritizing saving human lives and livelihoods and cutting through Big Pharma’s lies and threats to fight for the speediest possible end to the unprecedented threats posed to all Americans and people worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be critical that U.S. engagement in WTO negotiations leads to the fastest possible agreement on a waiver text that encompasses COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostic tests to prevent virus spread and treatments to save the lives of those engulfed in raging outbreaks around the world.<br class=""> <br class="">“By fighting for the rest of the world to have access to vaccines as we have in the U.S., the Biden administration is recognizing that ‘no one is safe until we are all vaccinated’ is more than a slogan, given COVID-19 outbreaks anyplace could hatch vaccine-resistant variants that sweep the world. <br class=""> <br class="">“As a candidate, Biden’s compassion and his understanding that Americans would not be safe unless the whole world was vaccinated was spotlighted when he pledged to ALS-diagnosed health activist Ady Barkin that he would ensure vaccines were shared worldwide to end the pandemic as quickly as possible and not allow IP barriers to thwart people’s right to access and today’s announcement is a critical step towards that goal. The fastest possible negotiations of a TRIPS waiver must also be accompanied by significant increases in funding and technology transfer to boost domestic and international vaccine production capacity so we can end this pandemic and prepare for the next.<br class=""> <br class="">“The optics of the U.S. and the few other wealthy countries with vaccines blocking 100 poorer countries without vaccines from even starting WTO negotiations on a temporary emergency waiver that is critical to boosting vaccine production was only made worse by China and Russia widely sharing their vaccines and technology worldwide. With an mRNA vaccine developed in China now in final trials, a Chinese firm already licensed to make the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines, and Latin American countries gearing up to make the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine, today’s announcement is a gamechanger.”</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr" class=""><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size: 11pt;" class=""><b class="">Subject:</b> Maryknoll Statement on TRIPS waiver</font><div class=""> </div></div><div dir="ltr" class=""><div style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class=""><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Paragraph" style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext;"><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></p></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span><span class="x_TabRun x_IPSelectionBlob x_BlobObject x_DragDrop x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; width: 0px;"><span class="x_TabChar x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block;"></span><span class="x_TabLeaderChars x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block; top: 0px; left: 0px;"></span></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 16.1875px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">Contact:<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">Kathleen Kollman Birch</span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">May 5, 2021</span><span class="x_TabRun x_IPSelectionBlob x_BlobObject x_DragDrop x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; width: 0px;"><span class="x_TabChar x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block;"></span><span class="x_TabLeaderChars x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; display: inline-block; top: 0px; left: 0px;"></span></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">(202) 832-1780,<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Hyperlink" href="mailto:kathleen@maryknollogc.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" class="x_Underlined x_TextRun x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">kathleen@maryknollogc.org</span></a><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"> </span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: center;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">U.S.<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">Support for IP Waiver Will Provide Tools to End the Pandemic</span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Paragraph" style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"></span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></p></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">WASHINGTON, DC –<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">On<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">Wednesday, May 5, the Biden administration announced that it wo</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">uld support a waiver of intellectual property rules at the World Trade Organization<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">in order to allow</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>COVID-19 vaccines and<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">treatments to be</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>manufactured more widely</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">. </span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Paragraph" style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"></span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></p></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">“</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">We rejoice in today’s news that the Biden<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">a</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">dministration will now support an intellectual property waiver to speed up production for the tools we need to end the pandemic</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">:<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">vaccines, testing,</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>and</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>therapeutic medicine,”<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">said Chloe Noel, Faith Economy Ecology Project Coordinator at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns</span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">. “We express our gratitude to Ambassador Tai and<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">look forward to</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>her leadership as she works with her counterparts on the<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">text of a<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">waiver. We hope that other countries<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">that</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>have stood in the way<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">of<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">this proposal</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>will follow Ambassador Tai’s lead and join in constructive dialogue to develop waiver text that advances the goals of the original proposal from India and South Africa.</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">”</span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Paragraph" style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"></span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></p></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: justify;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">“Too many lives have been lost</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>already,</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>and too many more will become sick or die without vaccine access, especially in low- and middle- income countries,” Noel continued. “A just recovery requires that everyone have equitable and timely access to vaccines, treatments, and testing necessary to contain the pandemic.<span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">Advancing global vaccine access is</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>our moral responsibility as a global community at the service of the common good.</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"><span class="x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>Today’s decision will help further that goal.</span><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">” </span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif;"> </span></div></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_Paragraph" style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext;"><span lang="EN-US" class="x_SCXW233629748 x_TextRun x_BCX4 x_Highlight" style="margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;"></span></span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></p></div><div class="x_OutlineElement x_BCX4 x_Ltr x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; clear: both; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.847); font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin: 0px; color: windowtext; text-align: center;" class=""><span lang="EN-US" class="x_SCXW233629748 x_TextRun x_BCX4 x_Highlight" style="margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748 x_NormalTextRun" style="margin: 0px;">The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC) represents Maryknoll missioners, who are Catholic men and women serving in impoverished communities around the world. The MOGC provides analysis and advocacy on issues of justice, peace and the integrity of creation that affect the countries and communities where Maryknoll missioners serve. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;"> </span><span class="x_BlobObject x_BCX4 x_DragDrop x_LineBreakBlob x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: WordVisiCarriageReturn_MSFontService, Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px;"> </span><br class="x_BCX4 x_SCXW233629748" style="margin: 0px;"></span><span lang="EN-US" class="x_TextRun x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: none !important;">###</span><span class="x_EOP x_SCXW233629748 x_BCX4" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 18.34583333333333px; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span></div></div><br class=""></div><div style="font-size: 12px;" class=""></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;" class="">Oxfam Reaction to Announced US Support of WTO Trips Waiver on COVID Vaccines<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/05/oxfam-reaction-announced-us-support-wto-trips-waiver-covid-vaccines" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/05/05/oxfam-reaction-announced-us-support-wto-trips-waiver-covid-vaccines</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span></div><p style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">5/5/2021<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">WASHINGTON - In response to today’s announcement that the US Trade Representative is supporting waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s President and CEO, made the following statement:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"President Biden and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai have recognized that Pharma’s ‘business as usual’ is killing us. In this moment of crisis, we applaud their willingness to pursue a new path that prioritizes public health over private profits.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"Today, we celebrate the momentous decision by President Biden and his administration to engage with the rest of the world to pull down all barriers standing in the way of everyone everywhere getting access to COVID vaccines.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"This is a testament to the widespread public movement calling for an end to vaccine monopolies. It is also a testament to an administration that listens and is willing to do whatever it takes to defeat COVID-19.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"Over the past year, nurses, doctors, Nobel Laureates, former heads of state, artists, economists, public health activists and more than two million people from around the world have rallied together to call on President Biden to reassert the US’s moral and public leadership on the world stage. Today President Biden answered that call.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"We are at a crucial inflexion point in the fight against the coronavirus, yet we have remained essentially at the mercy of a handful of giant pharmaceutical corporations that have monopoly control over the life-saving technologies we all need. This may now begin to change.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"Loosening the monopoly grip that pharmaceutical companies have on these life-saving vaccines is an essential step toward increased manufacturing that would lead to worldwide immunization, helping the US and everyone else. We will now look to the White House for leadership in a strong WTO outcome, in urgently insisting on the transfer of technologies through the World Health Organization Covid-19 Technology Access pool, and in investing strategically to build up regional vaccine hubs to defeat this and future pandemics.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">"The horrific situation in India is a warning to all of us that if we don’t move urgently to share the vaccine technology and scale up manufacturing so everyone, everywhere can have access to these lifesaving vaccines, we will never get the upper hand on COVID anywhere.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">###<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""> </span></div></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia, serif;" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><div class="ecoworld_column_gap ecoworld_column2 ecoworld_column"><h4 class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);" class="">Health GAP Statement in Response to USTR Announcement that the
U.S. Will Support Waiving Intellectual Property Protections for
COVID-19 Vaccines</span></h4></div><div class="ecoworld_column_gap">
<div class=" pt20 press-contact">
<strong class="">Contact:</strong>
<div class="press-contact-item">Jessica Bassett (Health GAP): 1 518-593-7628| <a href="mailto:jessica@healthgap.org" class="">jessica@healthgap.org</a></div>
</div>
<div class="ecoworld_the_content"><p class="">Health
GAP Executive Director Asia Russell said: “As HIV activists, we know
that activism and global solidarity can change the trajectory of a
pandemic. Today’s <a href="https://twitter.com/AmbassadorTai/status/1390021205974003720?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="">announcement</a>
shows that the Biden administration is feeling the pressure built over
many months of relentless activism by people around the world organizing
together to end vaccine apartheid and fight for a people’s vaccine to
end COVID-19. </p><div class=""> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="">“This is a necessary first step from
the Biden administration, but text based negotiations must not drag on
indefinitely, should not be limited to vaccines only, and must be
transparent, with text accessible by all. </p><div class=""> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="">“Already, 2.2 million people have
died of COVID-19 since the waiver was proposed in October 2020. The
Biden administration must not cave to big pharma scare tactics and its
army of lobbyists that will undoubtedly kick into high gear to stall
further progress. </p><div class=""> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="">“Biden must double down on this
recognition that circumstances call for extraordinary measures by
quickly bringing pharma to the table to compel them to share technology
and by using all resources at his disposal to fund increased
manufacturing capacity in the Global South.”</p><div class=""> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p style="text-align: center;" class="">###</p>
</div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="body-content imgabs" role="presentation" width="100%" style="padding: 0px; table-layout: auto; font-family: "Noto Sans KR", sans-serif; border-spacing: 0px !important; border-collapse: collapse !important; margin: 0px auto !important;"><tbody style="border-top-style: none;" class=""><tr class=""><td style="padding: 0px;" class=""><h1 style="text-align: center; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-size: 30px; line-height: 39px; color: rgb(0, 0, 51); font-weight: normal;" class=""><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717832/284121088/1661038872?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 51); text-decoration: none;" class="">CEPR Experts Applaud US Decision to Support Waiver on IP Protections for COVID-19 Vaccines, Propose Next Steps to Ensure Global Vaccine Access and an End to the Pandemic</a></h1></td></tr><tr class=""></tr><tr class="imgabs featured-full-email-one-col-text-img-btn-body"><td style="padding: 0px 10px 10px; font-size: 17px; line-height: 23.799999237060547px; color: rgb(101, 101, 101);" class=""><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><strong class="">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong>: May 5, 2021<br class=""><strong class="">CONTACT</strong>:<br class="">Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460, <a href="mailto:beeton@cepr.net" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">beeton@cepr.net</a><br class="">or Karen Conner, 202-281-4159, <a href="mailto:conner@cepr.net" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">conner@cepr.net</a></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class="">Washington DC — <span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">The Biden administration’s </span><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717833/284121089/1097628946?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">announcement</a> today that it will support a waiver on intellectual property protections at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to facilitate access to COVID vaccines around the world is welcome news, and could result in millions of lives being saved, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) experts said today. This action, with the necessary follow-through, will save thousands and potentially millions of lives by reducing the spread of vaccine resistant strains (which could, without containment, lead to a whole new round of infections and lockdowns in the United States). </p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">CEPR Senior Economist Dean Baker has written extensively about patents, IP protections, and COVID vaccines, including in op-eds for </span><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717834/284121090/672770228?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">The New York Times </a>and <a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717835/284121091/604745932?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">The Nation</a>. He said: “On the production part, we need full transparency on the process and inputs needed to manufacture all the vaccines so as to ramp up production as quickly as possible,” and noted: “We also need these manufacturers to share their production technology, much of which is now held as industrial secrets. The government can offer to pay Moderna and Pfizer to share this information by both publishing it and doing hands-on consulting with manufacturers elsewhere, to allow them to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”</p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">Deborah James, CEPR’s Director of International Programs, and coordinator of the Our World Is Not For Sale Network (which fights harmful agreements and proposals at the WTO), celebrated the announcement, </span><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717836/284121092/-1169295459?s=20&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">but cautioned</a>: “Now let's make sure US support includes waiving IP on equipment and inputs needed for vaccines; and waiving IP on diagnostics and medicines; as well as on copyrights on N95 masks, ventilators, etc., for resolving the heinous pandemic of COVID-19.”</p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">The announcement today follows a global campaign for a “People’s Vaccine” and increasing pressure for the US to support a TRIPS waiver, something the US had originally declined to do. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">Baker has proposed a </span><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717837/284121093/-1021580260?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">global vaccine summit </a>to foster international cooperation and “to take inventory of the world’s supply of effective vaccines (including those from China and Russia), and the potential for increasing production of each of them.” </p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">Baker has long been a critic of patents and copyrights, pointing to other incentives and means of funding the development of vaccines, medicines, medical equipment, and other necessities. He recently </span><a href="https://click.everyaction.com/k/28717838/284121094/592742259?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMy8xLzc1Mzc2IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjM3YWQxYzNmLWVlYWQtZWIxMS04NWFhLTAwNTBmMjM3YWJlZiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAib3JmdGNAY2l0aXplbnN0cmFkZS5vcmciDQp9&hmac=As8N4DmEvFtX15-Y2hT-sunFDnUDx6rmq5uwdR-jKLI=&emci=db65ae17-edad-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&emdi=37ad1c3f-eead-eb11-85aa-0050f237abef&ceid=4611031" style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0); text-decoration: none;" class="">wrote</a>: </p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 36pt;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-62b146f3-7fff-82ba-e822-bde8d12d0d38" class="">To my view, there is no economic policy that is worse in its outcomes than our system of patent monopoly financing for prescription drugs. Yet, the question of alternatives almost never comes up in policy discussions. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 36pt;" class="">With the pandemic costing millions of lives around the world and costing our economies trillions in lost output, we really should be asking whether the current system serves us well in producing vaccines, tests, and treatments. </p><p class="rtecenter" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center !important;"># # #</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><span style="font-size: 12px;" class="">Arthur Stamoulis</span><br style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12px;" class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</span><br style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12px;" class="">(202) 494-8826</span><br style="font-size: 12px;" class=""></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></body></html>