WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AHF, the largest provider of HIV/AIDS care globally, today demanded the US government take immediate steps to share its surplus COVID-19 vaccine supply with hard-hit countries and those without access to vaccines around the globe. Advocates from AHF and others will make the demand public and vocal in a series of nationwide global vaccine access PROTESTS set for Thursday, June 10th in cities across the US. During the protests—in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Washington, DC—advocates will also roll out ‘SAVE’ (‘Share American Vaccines Everywhere’), an advocacy campaign to remind political and public health leaders at the local, state and federal level that vaccine hoarding is immoral and dangerous, and press the US to swiftly share its unused vaccine supply abroad.
WHAT: GLOBAL VACCINE ACCESS PROTESTS and rollout of ‘SAVE’ (‘Share American Vaccines Everywhere’) advocacy campaign
WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 2021 – PLEASE CHECK LOCAL PROTEST TIMES & LOCATIONS BELOW (New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale)
LOS ANGELES PROTEST: FEDERAL BUILDING (Downtown), 300 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles CA 90012
- Thursday, June 10, 2021 – 12:00 Noon PT
- AHF Press Contact: Ged Kenslea +1.323.791.5526 cell ged.kenslea@ahf.org
NEW YORK PROTEST: UNITED STATES MISSION to the UNITED NATIONS, 799 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
- Thursday, June 10, 2021 – 12:00 noon ET
- AHF Press Contact: Marlene LaLota, +1.718.914.1952 cell marlene.lalota@ahf.org
WASHINGTON, DC PROTEST: BLACK LIVES MATTER PLAZA, 16th and K Streets NW, Washington, D.C. 20006
- Thursday, June 10, 2021 – 12:00 noon ET
- AHF Press Contact: John Hassell +1.202.774.4854 cell john.hassell@ahf.org
ATLANTA PROTEST: SAM NUNN FEDERAL CENTER, 61 Forsyth St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
- Thursday, June 10, 2021 – 10:30 am ET
- AHF Press Contact: Imara Canady +1.770.940.6555 cell imara.canady@ahf.org
FORT LAUDERDALE PROTEST: U.S. FEDERAL BUILDING and COURTHOUSE, 299 East Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
- Thursday, June 10, 2021 – 10:30 am ET
- AHF Press Contact: Imara Canady +1.770.940.6555 cell. imara.canady@ahf.org
“The world is on fire. The United States government must share its surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses with middle- and low-income countries immediately,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. “None of us are safe until we defeat the pandemic everywhere. Vulnerable people should be protected wherever they live. If the U.S. doesn’t immediately share the surplus vaccine doses it’s hoarding today, this pandemic could stretch for years, possibly mutating into even more deadly strains of the virus. Hoarding is immoral, selfish and dangerous.”
Wealthy countries have secured enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to vaccinate their entire populations—who are mostly white—almost three times over, leaving many poorer countries struggling to vaccinate even their most vulnerable. Right now, over 60% of the world’s population live in countries that won't see widespread vaccine coverage until 2022 or even later, allowing the virus to continue to mutate and extending the lifespan of this pandemic. Vaccine hoarding will prolong the pandemic for everyone and drag down the global economy.
And late last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that wealthy countries have now reached supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers through 2023, meaning the vaccine divide between rich and poor countries will grow even wider. (“Rich Nations Secure Shots Through 2023,” WSJ, June 2, 2021) “About 6 billion doses have been purchased by more than two dozen rich nations and the European Union, according to the latest figures from the Duke University’s Global Health Innovation Center, which tracks vaccine purchases. By comparison, the rest of the world has combined to purchase more than 3 billion doses.”
“Vaccine apartheid cannot stand. While we applaud the Biden administration for supporting waiving patent rights, they are taking far too long to implement it. Vaccine is needed immediately around the globe,” said Tracy Jones, Midwest regional director and national director of advocacy for AHF. “We cannot celebrate COVID subsiding here while the rest of the world burns. History will judge us poorly if we do.”
“We also cannot be fooled by this false sense of relief from COVID,” added Weinstein. “Fire spreads quickly. Variants that the current vaccines can’t stop may quickly engulf us again. President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress must take action now to stop vaccine hoarding and end this apartheid approach to global public health.”
COVID-19 Global Stats
As of June 3rd, there were about 172 million COVID-19 cases worldwide reported with over 3.7 million people dead. In India and Brazil, new COVID-19 cases are completely exceeding the capacity of healthcare systems. There is a crushing need for more vaccines, particularly in the developing world. However, as of April, 890 million vaccine doses had been administered worldwide – 81% were given in wealthy countries – and low-income countries received only 0.3%, according to the World Health Organization.
In addition to the five key protests in the cities listed above, smaller SAVE awareness activations will happen in as many as 25 other communities across the country. For more information about AHF’s ‘Share American Vaccines Everywhere’ campaign, please visit: www.VaccinateOurWorld.org
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.5 million clients in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
