Protest Timed with German Chancellor Merkel’s Visit to the United States;
Germany Is Blocking Global Policy Change Needed to Increase Vaccine Production
Germany is one of the last holdouts against a global agreement to temporarily waive intellectual property rights so that COVID vaccines, diagnostics and treatments can be produced in as many places as possible as quickly as possible.
“While Mainers increasingly have widespread access to COVID vaccination, huge numbers of people around the world aren’t expected to have access to a vaccine for years unless global production is dramatically increased,” said Cynthia Phinney of Maine Fair Trade Campaign. “Germany’s continued efforts to derail a global agreement on COVID vaccines means more needless death and increased chances of a viral mutation that can evade current vaccines and start the pandemic all over for everyone.”
The Maine Fair Trade Campaign's Portland protest is one of more than a dozen across the U.S. timed with Chancellor Merkel’s visit to Washington, DC to meet with President Joe Biden on COVID-19 eradication, among other topics.