<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=""><table role="presentation" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" border="0" class="" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td align="left" class="" style="word-break: break-word; padding: 10px;"><div class="" style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); line-height: 16.799999237060547px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 12pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 24px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 33.6px;">Statement: COVID IP Waiver Proposal Is Too Weak to Help End the Pandemic</span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">For Immediate Release:</span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">Mar. 15, 2022</span></div><p dir="ltr" class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"> </p><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">Contact: Mike Stankiewicz, </span><a href="mailto:mike@tradejusticeedfund.org" target="_blank" class="" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">mike@tradejusticeedfund.org</span></a><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">, (202) 255-7472</span></div><p dir="ltr" class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"> </p><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">WASHINGTON, D.C.</span><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;"> – </span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">According to</span><a href="https://u1584542.ct.sendgrid.net/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmXL6FiZ2obNO-CLWmD5umTXe1DTxMdJ1exbXBN28U5keytT27OTIGBSzZHpOk7NxUlrxyHEcMQBdrflmQ3eUZlcnHYKpQ_DIF0uCOkdtYflIWhBb_ZqbL-vGDNJ3ZN_OF1_D9RcS1ng4xebzovocKIO6SNh9kYdjUR2F7IwrRKOGSW9ARc59n0pxwIcttA9FBMRXrbvVDCkfY4M4OXPqooosTFffelWr6GpqgNKGOimdMEb0e8PDOvIxpFqDzVkveNybs6qgXxQ8ewGFG18snF1DrW3Im1zzAN8rDq31rwBgIEv9IkWk4TzGeiolHJFupSO3APIoXWuWG6sZMf_pl8/3kd/tOKe7tqwSveGIs5kkj_gbA/h0/sBQgfEJP52GCgt7H_1CoP1Jtx_ZpXeF4fAGGw8XslWA" target="_blank" class="" style="font-size: 1rem; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;"> </span><span class="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: transparent; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">news reports</span></a><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">, the EU, the U.S., South Africa and India have reached an agreement on a World Trade Organization waiver of intellectual property rights that does not include COVID tests or treatments and is severely limited even on the question of vaccines. </span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-weight: bold; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">Arthur Stamoulis, executive director of the Trade Justice Education Fund</span><span class="" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">, released the following statement:</span></div><p dir="ltr" class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; font-size: 14px;"> </p><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 9pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“This proposal isn’t strong enough to expand access to vaccines, and it won’t lessen the global demand on U.S. and European leaders to put human lives ahead of pharmaceutical monopolies’ profits.</span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 9pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“To save lives and end the pandemic, the world needs a comprehensive waiver that removes all forms of intellectual property rules standing in the way of increased production of COVID vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.</span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 9pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“To start, this watered-down proposal does nothing to expand access to tests and treatments, which are critical to moving COVID from a deadly pandemic to a manageable endemic. Putting off a decision about access to diagnostics and therapeutics is indefensible on public health, economic and moral grounds. That is a complete give-in to Big Pharma that, bafflingly, has the Biden administration’s fingerprints all over it. </span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 9pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“Additionally, there is nothing in the proposal that would share vaccine-making recipes and other technical know-how with qualified producers around the world. Forcing countries to reverse-engineer formulas that could be shared with a simple email is unscionable and deadly.</span></div><div class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 9pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“Perhaps most importantly, the proposal does not remove the full range of intellectual property barriers required to speed the production of vaccines, let alone test kits and treatments. </span></div><p dir="ltr" class="" style="line-height: 19.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 9pt; padding: 1pt 0pt 0pt; font-size: 14px;"><span class="" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 22.4px;">“After more than a year of dawdling, this proposal effectively abandons the billions of people still without access to COVID vaccines and treatments. The obstinance and greed of rich nations who continue to block a real waiver is costing countless lives, and putting the world at risk of new variants that threaten to undo the progress made against the virus everywhere.”</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></body></html>