Thread by @jasonhickel

Global South countries, led by South Africa and India, have requested a suspension of the WTO's patent rules to enable them to manufacture or import affordable generic versions of the COVID-19 vaccine. Shockingly, Britain and other rich countries have refused.

This decision could be a death sentence to hundreds of thousands of people. All to enable pharma corporations to profiteer, in the middle of a pandemic, from vaccines that have been developed overwhelmingly with public funds.

Here is a report on the initial proposal: keionline.org/34235

And here is Britain's frankly condescending response: gov.uk/government/new…

Here's a report from Reuters ("Wealthy countries block COVID-19 drugs rights waiver at WTO"): uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hea…

And here from The Lancet ("South Africa and India push for COVID-19 patents ban"): thelancet.com/journals/lance…

Some people seem to be concerned about my use of the adverb "shockingly". To clarify, I use it here as: "in a way that causes indignation, horror, or disgust", and "in a way that is offensive, upsetting, or immoral"; rather than as "surprisingly".

Colonialist behavior by colonial powers is immoral and appalling, and should be referred to as such, even if - and perhaps particularly when - it is not surprising.

For those interested in the adverb:
-dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/eng…
-lexico.com/definition/sho…
-oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/eng…

And for those interested in the issue:

Here's a campaign for a people's vaccine: globaljustice.org.uk/coronavirus-an…

And here's a story about how some MPs have joined in calling on the UK govt to suspend patent rules: thenational.scot/news/18931482.…