Free the Vaccine article for the Columbia Political Review

I wrote an article for the Columbia Political Review, a multi-partisan publication at Columbia University, about Free the Vaccine, its work around the world and at Columbia, and the need to fight for medicines access and equity. An excerpt about Free the Vaccine’s work and ethos:

Free the Vaccine quickly attracted over 300 volunteers from 29 countries. The volunteers were divided into smaller subgroups based on region. These subgroups are called Salk Squads, named for Jonas Salk, the medical researcher who discovered the vaccine for polio over sixty years ago. When asked who owned the patent on his polio vaccine, Salk famously replied, “The people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

Compare that to another excerpt, about Gilead’s recent announcement to charge thousands of dollars for the most promising COVID-19 treatment:

One of the most promising COVID-19 treatments, remdesivir, was developed with at least $70 million in taxpayer funding. Yet pharmaceutical company Gilead used a loophole to extend its patent on remdesivir (it reversed course after extreme backlash) and, after donating doses initially, has since set the cost for patients in the U.S. at several thousand dollars.

Read the article in full here! And sign on to support access and equity here!