Make vaccines patent-free to ensure equality: Prof Yunus

Nobel laureate professor Muhammad Yunus has called for ensuring vaccine equality around the world noting that all people need to be safe breaking the wall of profit, reports UNB.

"We're talking much to make the vaccine patent-free. We're working to get the patent out of the vaccine because the vaccine is a wall of profit and the wall of profit makes it tough for people to get the vaccine," said prof Yunus.

At a press briefing recently, the noble peace prize winner made the remarks when he was asked about what he expects from the international community to ensure vaccines for all people.

Talking further about the profit wall, prof Yunus said, "Unless you break this wall or throw it away, vaccines cannot flow in the direction of people. There's a lot of capacity in the world to produce vaccines. The patent wall doesn't allow that to happen."

He said the profit world is so stubborn and some people want to make a profit like they did last year. "Three top pharmaceutical companies have made 26 billion dollars in profit collectively out of vaccines so far."

Prof Yunus said if the speed of the vaccination remains the same; it'll take more than 57 years to vaccinate all the people of the world. He started a campaign last June asking the international community to make the vaccine patent-free globally as common good.

Many Nobel laureates, world leaders, and politicians signed it to publicize more widely. The president of the International Olympic Committee also signed it as one of the first persons.

Prof Yunus is set to receive the Olympic Laurel as only the second person in history as the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics takes place on Friday.

"Bangladesh will be so proud of this award because Bangladesh is a country that doesn't get close to an Olympic medal. But they have a cause for a celebration now, “said prof Yunus during a virtual press meet.