News & Politics
Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Queensland University of Technology and Jacques talk about the 'medical apartheid' which is confirmed (yet again) and made worse by the maldistribution of the COVID vaccines between the rich and the poor nations.Yet again, a political and economic collection of economic powerholders (read: the pharmaceutical industries and those who derive their personal wealth from their operations) and developed nations (the EU, the Trump-US and till a few days ago, Australia) wanting to protect the latter via the protection of the 'Intellectual Property Rights' - 'TRIPS' of the companies who developed and then 'own' the vaccines and make money out of them. These companies have been refusing to waive the TRIPS and allow the vaccines to be produced and distributed more fairly.We're a long way off anything resembling 'global health justice' it seems...