The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in a Resolution adopted on Wednesday 27 January, expressed its support for the UN Secretary General’s vision that any vaccine against Covid-19 should be a global public good accessible to all people and everywhere.
According to members, every effort should be made to achieve this goal, including, says one amendment, overcoming “the barriers and restrictions arising from patents and intellectual property rights”.
The Assembly also recommends that member states refrain from stockpiling vaccines to the detriment of other countries and support international cooperation initiatives such as COVAX, a scheme set up in September 2020 and co-led by the WHO, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and the “Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations” (CEPI ). The European Union has allocated €850 million to it.
“COVAX still lacks funds for the purchase of the necessary doses”, warned WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during his address to the Assembly. He called for solidarity, sharing of additional doses once priority groups have been vaccinated and transparency vis-à-vis the WHO regarding possible bilateral agreements.
In its Resolution, based on a report by Jennifer De Temmerman (ALDE, France), the Assembly confirms that priority should be given to people over 65 or with risk factors, those working in essential infrastructures and health workers. The Assembly calls for maximum transparency and specifies that vaccination certificates should be used “only for their designated purpose of monitoring vaccine efficacy, potential side-effects”, without being treated as authorisations to circulate.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/2Yi0upZ (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)