![]() ![]() They'd naturally get blamed even if they're not in control of distribution."Įven when a country has ordered Pfizer's vaccines and is waiting for them to arrive, the company has the power to change the vaccine delivery schedule, without consulting the country or suffering a penalty. "If, for example, the vaccine gets spoiled or doesn't work properly, liability will come back to the company. There were other reasons for the delayed vaccine uptake, including general vaccine hesitancy and concerns about the AstraZeneca jab and recipients' extremely rare chance of experiencing a blood clot. On Wednesday, 70 per cent of Australians aged 16 and older had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a key milestone in the federal government's plan to reopen the country.īefore that, the government was heavily criticised for the slow vaccine rollout and the decision from the Health Minister's office to not meet with Pfizer's executives until August 4, months after it was first approached by the company.ĭocuments released under Freedom of Information laws showed that health department officials did not want to sign a confidentiality agreement before they met with Pfizer representatives because it was "not usual practice". In an emailed statement, the department said: "The details of the Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) with Pfizer for the purchase of their COVID-19 vaccine are commercial-in-confidence." The ABC put those questions to the Department of Health. Nor is it clear if the government signed a contract saying that Australia would forfeit its right to rely on sovereign immunity if Pfizer was to make a claim to seize assets (a clause which appeared in contracts with several nations). Since August, the Australian government has had a "vaccine swap" deal with Singapore and Britain, and it has purchased 1 million Pfizer doses from Poland.īut it is unclear whether the federal government needed to ask permission from Pfizer before it could enter into those deals. It's been three years and I still haven't caught it – does that mean I'm immune to COVID-19?. ![]() Scientists say these are the 12 symptoms that reveal when COVID becomes long COVID.China's 'controllable' COVID-19 surge expected to peak at 65 million cases per week.The Brazilian government was prohibited from making "any public announcement concerning the existence, subject matter or terms of agreement" or commenting about its relationship with Pfizer, unless it had the company's prior written consent. Some countries signed contracts, waiving "immunity against precautionary seizure of any of assets", including Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. "Pfizer’s demands have generated outrage around the world, slowing purchase agreements and even pushing back the delivery schedule of vaccines." "The contracts offer a rare glimpse into the power one pharmaceutical corporation has gained to silence governments, throttle supply, shift risk and maximise profits in the worst public health crisis in a century," Zain Rizvi, the author of the report, said. ![]() Instead, they stated, any disagreements would be resolved through private arbitration under New York law.Ĭatch up on the latest COVID-19 news here If there was a dispute, it would be not be decided by a court (a public forum), according to some of the contracts. ![]() In some of the contracts (some of which were in draft or final form), Pfizer had the power to block countries from donating their COVID-19 vaccines to other countries, unilaterally change delivery schedules if there was a shortage, and demand that public assets be used as collateral. That was the key criticism made by Public Citizen, a consumer rights group, which published a report containing leaked Pfizer contracts with the United States, United Kingdom, European Commission, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic and Peru. ![]()
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