500 million from the US, 400 million from the EU, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan, and 100 million from the United Kingdom. A billion vaccine doses from now until next year was promised by the G7 leaders, gathered until 13 June in Cornwall. The agreement confirms the commitment to donate 2 billion doses to low and middle-income countries through the Covax international fund by the end of 2021. None of this, however, leaves a mark on the latter’s monopoly on the vaccine. Its objective is to increase the global distribution of vaccines by liberalising exports (which the US, in contrast with the EU, have restricted), and promoting voluntary collaborations piloted by Big Pharma. Moving things further in this direction, on 15 June at the Transatlantic Summit in Brussels, where US President Joe Biden paid his first official visit to NATO headquarters, the EU and US signed an agreement. However, realpolitik prevails: rich countries will centralize production in the factories of their pharmaceutical giants, while poorer countries wait for the crumbs. On June 10, the European Parliament signalled an important turning point, voting in favor of the suspension of Covid-19 vaccine patents. The battle for equal access to Covid vaccines is gathering steam.
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