A5 TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 | JOURNAL-NEWS | COMPLETE. IN-DEPTH. DEPENDABLE. CORONAVIRUS: THE LATEST MANUFACTURING VACCINES and treatments for voluntary sharing of technology, intellectual property data. no company offered to share its data. a proposal to suspend property rights during the pandemic, has been blocked in the World Trade Organization by the United States and Europe, home to the companies responsible for creating coronavirus vaccines. drive has support and the African Union but is adamantly opposed by vaccine makers. Pharmaceutical companies say instead of lifting IP restric rich countries should simply give more vaccines to poorer countries through COVAX, the initiative WHO create for more equitable vaccine distribution. The organization and its partners delivered its first doses last week in very limited quantities. But rich countries are not willing to give up what they have. Ursula Von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, has used phrase “global common good” to describe the vaccines but the European Union export controls on vaccines, giving countries the power to stop shots from leaving. On her first day as director-general of the WTO, Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the time had come to shift attention to the vaccination needs of the world’s poor. “We must focus on working with companies to open up and license more viable manufacturing sites now in emerging markets developing countries,” she told the organization’s members. “This should happen soon so we can save lives.” hepatitis By Maria Cheng and Lori Hinnant Associated Press and has The other, intellectual But In an industrial neighborhood on the outskirts of Bangladesh’s largest city lies a factory with gleaming new equipment imported from Germany, its immaculate hallways lined with metically sealed rooms. It is at just a quarter of its capacity. It is one of three factories Associated Press found on three continents whose owners say they could start producing hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines on short notice if only they had blueprints and technical But that edge belongs to the large pharmaceutical companies who have produced first three vaccines authorized by countries including Britain, the European Union and the U.S. — Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The factories are all still awaiting responses. Across Africa and Southeast Asia, governments and aid groups, as well as the World Health Organization, are calling on pharmaceutical companies to share their patent information more broadly to meet a yawning global shortfall in a pandemic that already has claimed over million lives. Pharmaceutical companies that took taxpayer from the U.S. or Europe to develop inoculations at unprecedented speed say they are negotiating contracts and exclusive licensing deals with producers on a case-by-case basis because they need to protect their intellectual property and ensure safety. Critics say this piecemeal approach is too slow at a time of urgent need to stop the virus before it mutates PARIS — her- operating That the of at least 119 countries The tions, ernments in the European Union, according to studies publicly available documents. AstraZeneca said the price of the vaccine will differ depending on local pro costs order size. “What we see today is a stampede, a survival of the fittest approach, where those with the deepest pockets, with the sharpest elbows are grabbing what is there and leaving others to die,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS. In South Africa, home to the world’s most worrisome COVID-19 variant, the Biovac factory has said for weeks that it’s in negotiations with an unnamed manufacturer with no contract to show for it. And in Denmark, the Bavarian Nordic factory has capacity to spare and the ability to make more than 200 million doses but is also waiting for word from the producer of a licensed coronavirus vaccine. Governments and health experts offer two potential solutions to the vaccine shortage: One, supported by WHO, is a patent pool after a platform set up for HIV, tuberculosis into even deadlier forms. WHO called for vaccine manufacturers to share their to “dramatically increase the global supply.” “If that can be done, then immediately overnight every continent will have dozens of companies who would be able to produce these vaccines,” said Abdul Muktadir, whose Incepta plant in Bangladesh already makes vaccines against flu, rabies, tetanus and measles. All over the world, the supply of coronavirus vaccines is falling far short of demand, and the limited amount available is going to rich countries. Nearly of the vaccines so far have been administered in just 10 countries, according to WHO. More than 210 countries and territories with billion people hadn’t received a single shot as of last week. The deal-by-deal approach also means that poorer countries end up paying more for same vaccine than richer countries. South Africa, Mexico, Brazil Uganda all pay different amounts per dose for AstraZeneca vaccine — and more than gov- the know-how. knowl- and public-private helped know-how the duction and hepatitis, the imposed 80% 2.5 money 2.5 the and and modeled the IN BRIEF Coronavirus cases in Ohio second-straight year between July 23-25. experience was canceled again due to coronavirus-related cautions around large gatherings. Organizers said postponements and other caused by the pandemic left them with “limited financial resources.” As a result, the virtual convention in July was reduced from four to three days. Ohio had 968,874 total reported cases and 17,346 deaths* as of 2 p.m. March 1. The in-person New cases reported each day (Difference from previously reported) challenges Feb. 9 3,207 Mar. 1 1,452 Cases by county Area county rates Highest county rates Cases per 100,000 pop. Total cases Cases per 100,000 pop. Total cases Darke 9,831 5,025 Warren 9,540 22,381 Miami 9,357 10,011 Butler 9,254 35,456 Clark 9,099 12,246 Montgomery 8,888 47,254 Preble 8,625 3,526 Greene 8,031 13,568 Champaign 7,370 2,866 Pickaway Marion Putnam Mercer 13,755 12,262 11,772 11,129 8,041 7,982 3,986 4,582 Lowest county rate Holmes 5,527 2,430 *Note: ODH said that it continues to reconcile death data, and that the review will result in some fluctuations in death numbers going forward. Source: Ohio Department of Health to get these shots into arms, especially “transportation is a huge barrier” among the people they serve. Though they’ll prioritize the people within the communities they serve, Roller said they don’t want vaccines to be wasted, so “if folks meet the age criteria and we have a spot for then we get them uled regardless of location, but obviously, preference is given to the folks in that community.” them, schedtheir because will Contact this reporter at 513820-2175 or email Michael. Pitman@coxinc.com.