Thread by @SFLCin

#RightsCon2021
#LiveToday: Join @PrasanthTweets, @VrindaBhandari, Dan Yair, & @sardarbinyan as they discuss the current state of COVID-19 litigation at @rightscon 2021.
rightscon.summit.tc/t/2021/events/…
#DigitalRights #Covid19

. @SFLCin has assisted in the filing of a writ petition challenging the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy before the Kerala High Court.
sflc.in/sflcin-assists…
#petition #Vaccination #VaccinationForAll

The liberalised pricing policy has allowed a multi-track procurement process & a differential vaccine pricing mechanism where vaccines will be supplied by the two Vaccine Manufacturers, @SerumInstIndia as well as @BharatBiotech to the Center, the States & private hospitals.

The writ petition greatly emphasizes on Open Access, Open knowledge and the Open COVID Pledge.
#Vaccination

The Open COVID pledge is an initiative through which multiple businesses, researcher’s, academics, lawyers have come together to pledge that their Intellectual property can be used free of charge to solve the COVID 19 pandemic and minimize the impact of the pandemic.

Some of the founding adopters of the pledge are companies like @Facebook , @amazon, @IBMResearch, @intel , @Microsoft, @HP among others.

The government should share its intellectual property in COVAXIN for the fight against COVID-19,enable technology transfer and capacity building, to facilitate rapid development and dissemination of the vaccine to the public both in India and abroad.

India along with South Africa had filed a request to the World Trade Organization on October 2, 2020 requesting a waiver of provisions related to patents and trade secrets for the Vaccines to help prevent, contain and treat COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of this petition, it is obligatory for the Government to apply the same principles at home with respect to Technology under their control. The decision on this petition remains inconclusive in light of resistance from U.S. and European companies.

.@SFLCin also wrote to the @PMOIndia, @AyushmanNHA, and @MoHFW_INDIA summarising the grievances raised by people to it regarding #CowinPortal.
sflc.in/sflcin-writes-…
#vaccine

We believe that any policies that result in exclusion of citizens should be changed. The Government of India already has experience of mandating #Aadhaar for several services which led to a legal challenge to it.
#DigitalDefenders