WASHINGTON, D.C. - Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, issued the following statement in response to the administration’s announcement on global vaccine distribution:
“Economic recovery and public health will be at risk as long as the pandemic rages anywhere around the globe. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce welcomes the Biden administration’s efforts to boost global vaccine manufacturing and expand vaccine access, including the decision to distribute nearly 19 million doses through the COVAX coalition and provide millions of additional doses directly to countries in need.
“As countries around the globe struggle to manage the health crisis, we know that more can – and must – be done. As production exceeds demand in the United States, the Administration should release additional doses into the global supply.
“The good news: For months, vaccine producers have been scaling up production exponentially and sharing intellectual property (IP) with manufacturers via licenses to boost global capacity. These collaborations – rather than the risky move to circumvent them via IP waivers – will be key to vaccinating billions worldwide.
“The Administration’s stance on weakening IP protection for these complex, hard to manufacture vaccines will undermine ongoing and successful efforts to license and scale global production of safe, effective vaccines. Instead, we urge the administration to work with the business community to deliver on the President’s recent promise to make America the ‘arsenal of vaccines.’"
