Act now for low-income countries to get access to COVID-19 vaccines: email your MP
September 6, 2021: Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, a few pharmaceutical companies have 20-year monopoly patents on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and each government must negotiate with them on prices and quantities. Rich countries are first in line, but even Australia is experiencing delays. Low-income countries must wait years while the pandemic rages, more infectious strains like Delta develop, and millions more die.