<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 class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" class="">FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: Nov. 23, 2021</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">CONTACT: Matt
Groch </span><a href="mailto:mgroch@citizen.org" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1155CC" class="">mgroch@citizen.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> (603) 560-0847<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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Say Members of Congress, Health, Labor, Human Rights and Faith Leaders at Press
Conference as Dozens of Civil Society Groups Deliver Three Million Petitions to
Biden Administration </span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i class=""><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Failure to Enact a Meaningful WTO Waiver to Scale Up Production of
COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments and Tests Will Prolong the Pandemic and Cause
More Death, Economic Hardship and Social and Political Disruption </span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Video recording, transcript and this release with organizational
logos available </span></i><a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/pres-biden-must-deliver-covid-19-wto-trips-waiver-at-wto-ministerial-say-members-of-congress-and-health-labor-human-rights-and-faith-leaders-at-press-conference-as-dozens-of-civil-society-groups-d/" class=""><i class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
color:#1155CC" class="">here</span></i></a><i class="">. Q</i><i class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">uotes from
speakers and petition groups below</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today members of
Congress joined health, labor, faith and development leaders in a press
conference urging President Joe Biden to deliver on his pledge to remove
intellectual property barriers that limit access to COVID-19 vaccines,
treatments and diagnostic tests and prolong the pandemic by securing a waiver
at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial starting next week. A
meaningful WTO waiver that can facilitate the necessary scale-up in production
will only be agreed if the Biden administration applies maximum diplomatic and
political pressure to make it happen, the groups said. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The organizations delivered three million
petitions urging Biden to step up U.S. leadership to secure a temporary waiver
of WTO intellectual property barriers supported by more than 120 nations to
help end the pandemic.</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The press conference comes ahead of the
key Nov. 30 WTO Ministerial (MC12) and more than a year after a COVID emergency
WTO waiver was first proposed by South Africa and India. Less than 7% of people
in low-income nations have received a first COVID shot and current vaccine
producers are behind their 2021 production pledges even as demand for shots has
increased with rich-country booster programs and vaccination of children. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The petition delivery is part of dozens of
actions taking place in countries </span><a href="https://rethinktrade.org/toolkit/wto-ministerial-global-call-to-action/?fbclid=IwAR2h7vAs7fYpUCHBVXif3kEZdP6PPh9hcx0RAGLML5unci7nulUd4HOdduU" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">across
the globe</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> ahead of MC12 to insist that an emergency
COVID-19 WTO waiver be agreed. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">On May 5, people across the globe<span style="background:white" class=""> celebrated the </span></span><a href="https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2021/may/statement-ambassador-katherine-tai-covid-19-trips-waiver" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
background:white" class="">Biden administration’s </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">support of the waiver</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, which would suspend WTO intellectual property barriers that
provide pharmaceutical firms with lengthy monopoly rights to control supplies
of vaccines, tests and treatments — even in a global pandemic when there simply
are not enough being made. The U.S. announcement initially created momentum for
a waiver, which now enjoys the support of the vast majority of WTO member
nations. But six months later, in the absence of U.S. leadership to deliver a
waiver deal, the European Union, on behalf of Germany, plus Switzerland and the
United Kingdom have blocked progress on a waiver of WTO Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) rules, even as millions die waiting for
shots and treatments.</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Health, labor, faith, consumer and other
organizations worldwide and their millions of members agree that a waiver is
critical to scale up production of the COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests
necessary to end the pandemic. Forty organizations gathered more than three
million petition signatures in support of the waiver. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">With the WTO Ministerial days away,
today’s petition delivery is a painful reminder to the Biden administration
that every day the U.S. fails to act, more people die. The mismatch between the
administration’s stated priority of getting the world vaccinated and ending the
pandemic to save lives, versus the failure to deliver on a waiver is disastrous
and unacceptable. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">A </span><a href="https://rethinktrade.org/toolkit/wto-ministerial-global-call-to-action/?fbclid=IwAR3i6DsAQ9Llk8ijngqanlwAYiIlc7QfBC9cMJ75O11QO6OlLdlK_OfpfQY" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">global
call to action</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> for the waiver at MC12 is
endorsed by powerful labor, health and other organization worldwide including
the global labor federation, the International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC), Public Services International (PSI), Amnesty International, Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam, Avaaz, the People’s Vaccine Alliance, Greenpeace,
and many more. Today’s three million petition signatures add to a deluge of
support for the waiver, including from the </span><a href="https://schakowsky.house.gov/media/press-releases/members-congress-led-push-trips-waiver-applaud-biden-administration" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">majority
of U.S. House Democrats</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, </span><a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/SenateTRIPSletter4.15.21.pdf" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">ten
U.S. senators</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, </span><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/43fd53f5-2b82-4e41-981c-8544a6ce996b" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">170-plus
former heads of state and Nobel laureates</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, </span><a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/hundreds-of-prominent-us-civil-society-organizations-call-on-pres-biden-to-stop-blocking-covid-19-wto-waiver-to-boost-vaccines-treatments-worldwide/" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">400-plus
U.S. civil society organizations</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, </span><a href="https://www.twn.my/title2/intellectual_property/trips_waiver_proposal/CSOLetter_Dr.%2520Ngozi.pdf" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">250
international organizations</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> and over </span><a href="https://research.kent.ac.uk/socril/ip-scholarship-trips-waiver/" class=""><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" class="">100
international intellectual policy academics</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">. </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">###<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Statements from press conference
participants</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:3.0pt;line-height:107%" class=""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The world is fast approaching a moment of
opportunity to begin the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting November 30,
the WTO will convene its ministerial conference in Geneva, which could make
decisions that would finally halt the worldwide pandemic that threatens
humankind. The good news is that there are now wonderful vaccines that are
extremely effective in combating the virus, including the current Delta
variant. The bad news is that outside of the US and a handful of other
countries, only a tiny percentage of people have received vaccines. The
presence of the virus anywhere is a threat to people everywhere, particularly
given the threat that a variant that is resistant to the current vaccine could
emerge. Five million people have died worldwide, including 750,000 Americans.
Now is the time to stop the carnage. The way out is simple: Distributing the
vaccine around the globe would be life-saving, and we could actually do this.
President Biden, on May 5 of this year, you made the wise and courageous decision
to support the TRIPS waiver along with his great trade representative,
Katherine Tai. … Now we are appealing to President Biden to use his
indispensable leadership power to insist the WTO follows his lead and that the
vast majority of the members of the WTO approve a temporary TRIPS waiver.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“Next week, when the WTO ministerial
conference kicks off, President Biden’s leadership will never be more essential
to help end this pandemic. The stakes could not be higher. Inaction is not an
option. Failure to enact a waiver will only prolong the pandemic, leading to
more death, illness, economic hardship and social and political disruption
around the world. It is long past time for the president to deliver on his
historic support for this waiver. We will only be successful if the president,
working with USTR Katherine Tai, uses the opportunity to get the WTO waiver
done, which will facilitate broad tech transfer, speed up COVID-19 vaccines,
diagnostics, and treatments by expanding global production. During the
campaign, President Biden said he would commit to sharing technology and access
to coronavirus vaccines if the US developed one first, and we have. Let me say,
the President was right then. As president he was right at the WTO, and he will
be right again next week once we deliver on these actions at the WTO
ministerial conference. Doing our part to end the pandemic by sharing what we
have learned and to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering around the
world is a moral necessity and would help to restore US leadership around the
world. Last week I had a Labor HHS subcommittee hearing on appropriations with
Dr. Kessler and Director Pace on our nation's role in global COVID-19 vaccine
equity. I held the hearing because I am disturbed by the general lack of
urgency in ensuring every person across the world has access to the COVID-19
vaccine. While the US is a leader in the fight to vaccinate the world, why is
it taking so long to manufacture the vaccine? For the life of me, I cannot
understand why we are still in this predicament. People are dying, time is of
the essence, and in the midst of it all, Moderna is making billions of dollars
profiting off the suffering of those it refuses to save. This is unacceptable.
Now, just one week before the World Trade Organization ministerial begins, I'm
once again calling on President Biden to step up and deliver on a waiver of WTO
intellectual property barriers temporarily, waive these barriers that are
limiting the supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests
that are critical to be able to end the pandemic.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Pauline Muchina, American
Friends Service Committee, Public Education & Advocacy Coordinator (PEAC)
for the Africa Region</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“We are here to call on President Biden to
walk the talk. It is time for him to put his faith in practice and to put his
humanity in practice and to put his heart toward the billions of people
waiting for him to act.. Negligence and abdication of responsibilities of any
world leaders, including those of Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, are
immoral. From a faith perspective, we cannot tolerate that. That is why we are
calling on them to show compassion to end this...Vaccine apartheid is inhumane
and it is unjust. It is vaccine apartheid when most of the people around the
world who lack access to vaccines are people of color. In my home country of
Kenya, only 10% of the population has received vaccines. In some other African
countries, only 4% of the people have received vaccines.... If we don't
vaccinate the rest of the world, we cannot rest easy. If we don't
vaccinate the rest of the world, the economy will not bounce back…. The
pandemic is stoppable. The only thing preventing that is greed. We are calling
on world leaders to get off their high horses and challenge these
pharmaceutical companies and save millions of lives. Let us approve the TRIPS
waiver at the WTO to save lives globally.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> <b class="">Paul O’Brien, Amnesty
International USA, Executive Director</b></span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“This is the moment, President Biden, to
prove you’re willing to put muscle behind a rights-based foreign policy, hold
pharmaceutical companies accountable, hold those countries accountable, and
unblock the TRIPS waiver so we can find a rights-based solution to this
pandemic… This pandemic is impacting the entire human rights agenda. It has
taken more than 5 million lives, and it’s also wreaking havoc on political
rights. It's leading to protests all around the world, and those protests will
get worse as it tears economies apart and leads more and more people behind in
terms of economic, social, and cultural rights.... Until we create a
rights-based solution, everyone else is out of luck. Instead of the US showing
sufficient leadership from the moment it made those announcements to solve the
problem we've got now, it has rested on its hands. The only way we are going to
get there in this moment is if we start to regulate the power of pharmaceutical
companies. You've got three countries, through the EU, where it's worth noting
that pharmaceutical companies have huge political power, in Germany, in the UK,
and in Switzerland, blocking the TRIPS waiver, even though more than 100
countries support the waiver, even though 3 million people say the time to act
is now. Those three countries are blocking this from moving forward. The one
country that can change this equation is another place where pharmaceutical
corporations have huge power, the US. It is time for this government to take
back power from the pharmaceutical companies and insist that our diplomatic weight
goes toward solving this problem.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Sara Nelson, <span style="background:white" class="">Association of Flight </span>Attendants<span style="background:white" class="">-CWA, President</span></span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“President Biden, you are a world leader,
and you are seen as the leader of the free world. It is time to use that power
and the power of the people who elected you and stand behind you and the
workers who need your support around the world. It is time to make good on the
promise that we are going to lead the world, that America is back. We have to
reject every attempt to say that this is a difficult or wonky issue. This is an
issue of whether we are going to act like human beings or not. We implore you to
put every effort behind marshalling a real effort to ending this pandemic and
to show the world the true hearts of Americans and all humanity, that we are
stronger with solidarity together. The truth is, I know as a labor leader that
an injury to one is an injury to all. We cannot think about this as getting the
vaccine to certain countries. We cannot think about this as only affecting our
own communities. As flight attendants, we know the entire world is our
workplace. We are not going to end this pandemic if we don't marshal all of our
resources and all of our leadership to bring people together to end all
barriers to production, to distribution, to technology transfer, to everything
needed to end this pandemic... We are less safe when people question, where is
the US? Why is the US not fighting for us? Why did President Biden say on May 5
that he supported this, but hasn't put every effort behind it to make it a
reality? If we don't take a lead here, we will allow the dark forces of the
world to grow bigger and bigger and drive the idea that you’re on your own.
There is something bigger at stake here than ending this pandemic. It's the
soul of the nation and the soul of the world.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Avril Benoît</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">, <b class="">Doctors Without Borders USA (MSF USA), Executive Director</b></span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The US made a big, bold decision to
support this groundbreaking TRIPS waiver, but is now largely absent from the
global effort to make it a reality. This is a historic opportunity, and the US
must play a leadership role. While the US now has plenty of tools to tackle
COVID-19, people in many low- and middle-income countries are still suffering
and dying without vaccines, tests, or treatments. We don’t have time to waste.
The US must deliver on its promise and ensure that the TRIPS waiver is
adopted.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Asia Russell, Executive
Director, Health GAP</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“With days to go before the 12th
ministerial meeting in Geneva, and more than 12 months since the TRIPS waiver
proposal was put forward, unfortunately the Biden administration has not yet
woken up. US negotiators told us Friday they're playing what they call a
facilitating role. What they are actually doing is enabling the outright
obstruction. I don't know about you, but enabling obstruction is in some ways
worse than obstruction itself. The reality is that the time for playing a
facilitating role is over. This administration was elected to do much better.
The administration must stand up and must act. Every day, more than 6 times the
number of boosters are administered than primary doses in the Global South.
That's completely unacceptable. Leadership means expending all possible public,
political, and diplomatic pressure to ensure that sliver of opposition is
confronted, is challenged, and is dissolved. Otherwise, the failure to deliver
a TRIPS waiver to crush COVID-19 will and should be laid at the feet of the
Biden administration’s team. There's still time for the administration to keep
its promise, but only if it does more than merely express support for the TRIPS
waiver.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Dr. Joia Mukherjee, MD, MPH,
Partners In Health, Chief Medical Office</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“We are in a position where we as America
could regain our status as moral leaders if we do the right thing, which is
waiving the patents, and more importantly, the actualization, the language on
that, the insistence on sharing know-how, and last and perhaps most
importantly, is the funding. … My staff and dear friends around the world,
often unimmunized, even as I have had my booster shot, these people are tired
of being on the front line. Health workers and vulnerable people around the
world have not been vaccinated. This kind of nationalism, vaccine nationalism,
is just as bad as building a wall. It's building a wall around our privilege,
saying we alone can get these amazing fruits of modern medicine. This is only a
scarce commodity because Pharma wants it to be a scarce commodity so they can
maximize profits. We’re often hearing that China is the real enemy. This is not
true. This must be a collaborative effort across the world. What we see is that
China is stepping up and vaccinating people. We need to do our share and not
look at this as us against them. This is a test for our ability as a globe to
collaborate in the 21st century. If we can't do this, how can we imagine
coordinating on climate change and other huge existential threats? We are
calling on the Biden administration to fully articulate what a patent waiver
is, to force the sharing of know-how, and to put money into this.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Lori Wallach, Public Citizen’s
Global Trade Watch</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The most important thing the WTO can do
to end the pandemic is to get out of the way by removing WTO intellectual
property barriers to saving lives. A meaningful WTO waiver that can facilitate
the necessary scale-up in COVID vaccine and medicine production will only be
agreed if the Biden administration applies maximum diplomatic and political
pressure to make it happen. The stakes could not be higher: Failure to enact a
waiver will prolong the pandemic leading to more death, illness, economic
hardship, and social and political disruption.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Statements from organizations
participating in the petition drive:</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:3.0pt;line-height:107%" class=""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Mary J. Novak, NETWORK Lobby
for Catholic Social Justice, Executive Director</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The United States has been blessed with
incredible life-saving vaccines for our nation. As we provide third vaccine
doses and expand distribution to children, billions of people in the Global
South wait for their first shot. It is unacceptable and immoral for countries
to continue obstructing access to critical vaccines, treatments, and tests
necessary to end the pandemic, putting profit over humanity. Unless the World
Trade Organization acts to prioritize life by securing a temporary waiver of
intellectual property treatments, this Ministerial will be a failure that leads
to continued death and suffering. As Pope Francis recently said: ‘In the name
of God… I ask all the great pharmaceutical laboratories to release the patents.
Make a gesture of humanity and allow every country, every people, every human
being, to have access to the vaccines.’” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Abby Maxman, Oxfam America, President
& CEO</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“Over the last year, pharmaceutical
corporations have shown that we cannot count on them to deliver access to COVID
vaccines for everyone, everywhere. Only concerted action by governments to
force them to share the technology, know-how, and intellectual property will
achieve this,” said Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America. “This is a
critical moment. President Biden and all governments must immediately support
the proposal of South Africa and India at the WTO for a temporary waiver on all
COVID-19 medical technologies.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Avril Benoît, Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA, Executive Director</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The US made a big, bold decision to
support this groundbreaking TRIPS waiver, but is now largely absent from the
global effort to make it a reality. This is a historic opportunity, and the US
must play a leadership role. While the US now has plenty of tools to tackle
COVID-19, people in many low- and middle-income countries are still suffering
and dying without vaccines, tests, or treatments. We don’t have time to waste.
The US must deliver on its promise and ensure that the TRIPS waiver is
adopted.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Joyce Ajlouny, American
Friends Service Committee, General Secretary</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The refusal to approve the TRIPS waiver to scale up vaccine production
is inhumane and unjust. President Biden, it is time to walk the talk and
facilitate the approval of the TRIPS waiver to save lives. In addition, the US
needs to show real solidarity to low and middle-income countries that have only
had enough vaccine to reach 4% of their populations. It is time for leadership
to end this pandemic.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Dr. Krishnan Narasimhan,
Doctors for America, Board Chair </span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">"If we really want to get to the end
of this pandemic, it is imperative that we expand access to vaccines and other
lifesaving technology to low- and middle-income nations. The U.S. must support
the passage of the WHO TRIPS waiver against intellectual property barriers,
fight monopolies to transfer vaccine technology, and equitably scale global
vaccine manufacturing. We are still in a global moment of crisis. It's time to
choose people over profits."</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Arthur Stamoulis, Citizens
Trade Campaign, Executive Director </span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The world desperately needs the WTO to
waive intellectual property rules that continue standing in the way of
increased production of the COVID vaccines, test kits and treatments needed to
save lives and end the pandemic. After more than a year of debate, any
WTO response to COVID that fails to deliver a comprehensive waiver agreement
would call into question not only the point of holding a ministerial in the
middle of a public health emergency, but also the credibility of the entire
institution.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Sarah Roth-Gaudette, Fight for
the Future, Executive Director </span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“As the Delta variant continues to rage
across the US and around the world, the Biden administration cannot continue to
put the intellectual property interests and profits of Big Pharma before the
lives of millions of people. For too long, the cabal of IP and copyright
maximalists have organized behind the scenes to turn our government into a
vehicle for their profit that turns a blind eye to their abuses. Now, our
government is poised to take direct and meaningful action to save millions of
lives, potentially preventing a variant even worse than Delta. We must share
life-saving technology and information with other countries around the world,
to do anything else is a betrayal of our humanity.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Brook K. Baker, Health GAP,
Senior Policy Analyst</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The importance of the temporary TRIPS
waiver is becoming clearer today. Instead of freeing IP, insisting on
technology transfer, and supporting independent vaccines, therapeutics, and
diagnostic manufacturing capacity where it is needed – in developing countries,
the U.S. has just announced another corporate boondoggle promising to invest
billions of taxpayer dollars in domestic manufacturing capacity controlled by
Pfizer and Moderna, companies that stand to make well over $100 billion this
year and next on taxpayer-subsidized messenger RNA vaccines. At the same
time, important outpatient antivirals owned by Merck and Pfizer are awaiting
regulatory approval and have already been purchased in bulk by the US and other
rich countries. Merck and Pfizer’s voluntary licenses retain monopoly
control in important upper-middle income country markets that now face
restricted supplies and extortionate prices well in excess of the $10 per
course of treatment cost of production. The waiver remains essentially to
bypass the patents, data protections, and trade secret rules that thwart
low-cost manufacturing of assured quality in LMICs. The time for
procrastination and fence sitting by the US has long passed – the U.S. must
immediately join in the drafting of a full waiver text and put irresistible
pressure on the handful of opponents, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.”</span><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Ben Levenson, Justice is
Global, Deputy Director</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“It's been over a year since India and
South Africa proposed the TRIPS waiver to expand vaccine production and help
end the pandemic everywhere. It is unconscionable that a wealthy few are still
blocking this commonsense measure that the vast majority of the world wants. We
are organizing rallies across the US in solidarity with people around the world
to show that the American public understands that vaccine inequity means a
prolonged pandemic and preventable suffering. We cannot wait another year for
our leaders to take this crisis seriously and we will escalate pressure until
they do so.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Alex Lawson, Social Security
Works, Executive Director</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">"People around the world are dying
needlessly because of Big Pharma's greed. President Biden must lead the WTO to
enact a plan to vaccinate the world and end the pandemic by distributing
know-how and manufacturing to all countries that can help.”</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Mark Harrington, Treatment
Action Group, Executive Director</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“U.S. taxpayers funded the development of
effective COVID-19 vaccines directly, and through pre-purchase contracts that
guaranteed a return on investment to Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson.
Despite investing billions, our government is standing by while these companies
prevent generic manufacturers from producing affordable vaccines for low- and
middle-income countries. The White House should recognize that standing up to
pharma is a winning message, but only if you follow through with action.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Organizations participating in
the petition campaign:</span></b><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">ActionAid USA</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">American
Friends Service Committee</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Amnesty USA</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Association
of Concerned Africa Scholars (USA)</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Avaaz</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Be A Hero</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Center for
Health and Hope</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Citizens Trade
Campaign</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Demand
Progress</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Doctors For
America</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Drug Prices
Are Too High</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Fight for the
Future</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Greenpeace</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Health GAP</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Jewish Voice
for Peace Action</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Justice Is
Global</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Marked By
COVID</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">National
Council of Churches USA</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">National
Organization of Women</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">NETWORK Lobby
for Catholic Social Justice</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Other98</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Oxfam America</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Partners In
Health</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Progress
America</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Progressive
Democrats of America</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Right to
Health Action</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Social
Security Works</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Treatment
Action Group</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Union of Concerned Scientists</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">###</span><o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p>
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Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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