120 companies worldwide could produce mRNA vaccines
December 15, 2021, 12:04 p.m.
Geneva In Africa or Latin America, only a fraction of the people are vaccinated against the coronavirus – there are no vaccines. It would be a very easy way to get enough vaccine there too.
At least 120 pharmaceutical companies in Asia, Africa and Latin America would be able to produce mRNA vaccines, according to a study by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
They just lack the technology of the companies that have developed mRNACorona vaccines, the human rights organization reported on Wednesday.
She appeals to the companies, and in particular the governments of Germany and the USA, to enable this technology transfer. This is the only way the world could get a grip on the corona pandemic. 89 of the companies are based in India and China, with others in Vietnam, Egypt, Senegal, Brazil and Cuba, for example.
Open letter to Scholz
In one open letters HRW and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) contacted Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly. In it, they call on Scholz to «take all available measures to ensure that the German developers of mRNA vaccines, starting with BioNTech, carry out technology transfers abroad and support the broader production of Covid-19 vaccines in order to save lives quickly and to protect human rights worldwide. “
More than two thirds of the corona vaccine doses were recently used in rich countries, only a fraction in the poorest countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the main reason is supply bottlenecks because rich countries are hoarding vaccines.
Not that complicated at all?
The US company Moderna produces the second corona mRNA vaccine. “The list shows that the production of mRNA vaccines outside the USA and Germany is possible,” said HRW. Moderna as well as Biontech and Pfizer would have needed only three to seven months for the technology transfer to be able to manufacture the vaccines in their own new factories.
The pharmaceutical industry always argues that building mRNA production and training staff are complex and take years. The companies try to find suitable partners in other countries for themselves. According to its own statements, Moderna is building up in Africa, as is Biontech.
According to HRW, experts have added companies to the list that are recognized by renowned authorities for the manufacture of sterile injectables, for example. These include the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Medicines Agency FDA.