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Civil society organisations call the EU to share all COVID-19 excess doses

Brussels – Responding to the leaked draft Council Conclusions of the European Council on 24-25 June and following a dud vaccine deal by the G7, anti-poverty group The ONE Campaign, Global Citizen, and the Pandemic Action Network are calling EU leaders to share all Covid-19 excess doses, develop a Global Roadmap to Vaccinate the World and boost industry transparency on the number of doses being produced and when. 

Emily Wigens, EU Director at The ONE Campaign, said: “Optimism in Europe ignores the continuing devastation of the pandemic across the world. Vaccination rates are stalling whilst COVID19 cases & deaths are surging across Africa. As a first urgent step, leaders should agree at this week’s European Council to share all of the bloc’s surplus doses as soon as possible – starting immediately. Continued inaction would be a moral failure: it is costing lives. It is also short-sighted: it will put Europeans at risk as the virus continues to spread, mutate and cross borders.”

Friederike Röder, Vice-President, Global Advocacy at Global Citizen, said: “After the failure of the G7 summit, the world is looking for EU leadership on global vaccination. So far, there is no roadmap to get the world as soon as possible to herd immunity, the only way to end the pandemic for good. This will also require greater transparency from government leaders and from pharmaceutical companies: how many doses can be produced and will be, for whom, at which price, and when?”

Eloise Todd, Co-Founder of Pandemic Action Network, said: “People in most countries do not have access to vaccines because rich countries bought many times what they need. European leaders must act this week to right that wrong and plug the 290 million Covax shortage in vaccine doses by the end of June – and commit to doing all they can to plug the gaps for the coming months that will grow exponentially. The EU must deliver the leadership the world needs and that the G7 failed to demonstrate – and commit to finance a Roadmap to vaccinate the world that can get communities everywhere to 70% vaccine coverage.”

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