Dr Aisling McMahon participates in Virtual Panel Discussion on solidarity & justice in developing COVID-19 vaccines

Monday, November 9, 2020 - 13:00

On 4th November, Dr Aisling McMahon participated in a live #FirstWeds panel with Robbie Lawlor, Co-Founder, Access to Medicines Ireland, and Roz Scourse, Médecins Sans Frontières, discussing global health justice and solidarity in developing Covid-19 diagnostics, medicines and vaccines. The event was moderated by Dr Eilish Dillion, Department of International Development. Maynooth University, and hosted by Comhlámh and the Department of International Development, Maynooth.

The race for a vaccine for COVID19 is a regular feature of the media since the outbreak of the pandemic in February and March this year. However, what will happen after an effective vaccine is developed – do these headlines inform us of the processes and frameworks underpinning future vaccine production and how  vaccines will be accessed by a global population? The panel examined these issues and particularly, considered the obstacles intellectual property rights may pose to global equitable access to healthcare for Covid-19.  The panellists also considered possible solutions to access issues that may arise, including: current proposals for voluntary licensing initiatives such as the World Health Organisation Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) initiative, the role of compulsory licensing in patent law, and proposals for a waiver to the international intellectual property (TRIPS) framework in the context of Covid-19.

A link to a recording from the event is available here