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Release the knowledge about the vaccine!
Should a vaccine, whose research was largely funded by the public purse, now only serve the profit of one company, while billions of people hope for a quick end to the pandemic? We don't think so, which is why we have called upon Biontech employees to leak the manufacturing instructions – to enable global production.
The research of the Biontech vaccine was financed with about 450 million euros of government support. Now, however, the knowledge lies solely with the company and provides Biontech with billions in sales prospects – for the year 2021 alone..
At the same time, poorer countries in the Global South will have to wait several years for the vaccine to become available. This is also due to a lack of production capacity. Many pharmaceutical plants are ready and could start producing the mRNA vaccine – if Biontech would share the knowledge and production know-how.
So as long as Biontech refuses, it is up to the employees. To this end, we have used posters in Marburg and Mainz, a video and a website at biontech-leaks.org to call on employees to leak the production instructions for the Biontech vaccine.
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Vaccine nationalism is a moral declaration of bankruptcy
In the corona pandemic, all countries are only thinking of themselves. While people in this country will be able to get vaccinated and go to parties again from summer 2021, in most African countries there is not even enough vaccine available to vaccinate medical staff. Closed schools and businesses, lockdowns, economic damage and fatalities will probably continue there until 2023. This is a moral declaration of bankruptcy by the rich global North.
In order to be able to produce the vaccine locally, the countries of the global South therefore need the manufacturing instructions and a lifting of patent protection. A coalition of over 100 countries is trying to achieve this repeal by submitting an application to the World Trade Organization. But who is blocking this application and insisting on compliance with patent protection? Canada, the USA and the EU, the very countries that have enough vaccine available for their own populations anyway.
It seems that the protection of intellectual property and profit interests outweighs the protection of human life. And how did Biontech react to our campaign? They had the website blocked because we were “infringing intellectual property”.
