Coronavirus worldwide: Boris Johnson speaks out in favor of patent protection

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More than 175.7 million people have tested positive for the virus worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 3.79 million infected people have died. More than 2.3 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.

The latest developments
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reiterated his opposition to lifting patents on Corona vaccine production. Central to this is building production facilities around the world, especially in Africa, Johnson said at the conclusion of the G-7 summit in Cornwall, southwest England, on Sunday (June 13). Know-how also needs to be shared, he said. But at the same time, incentives for innovation must be protected, Johnson cautioned. The right way, he said, is to distribute vaccines at cost, as the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca does. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had urged participants at the G-7 summit the previous day at a virtual press conference to temporarily lift patent protection for vaccines. This is essential to protect large parts of the world’s population from the corona virus by next year, the WHO director-general said.
In the fight against the Corona pandemic, the G-7 group is providing at least one billion doses of vaccine to poorer countries. This will be done by June 2022 through both donations and payments to the Covax international vaccination program, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday (June 13) after the meeting concluded in Carbis Bay, England. The final communique said there were pledges for 870 million doses of vaccines to be delivered as quickly as possible and half by the end of the year, primarily through the Covax international vaccination platform, to countries most in need. Billions in financial pledges to purchase vaccine doses have also been made since the virtual G-7 meeting in February, the statement added. With the direct donations and financial pledges, more than two billion vaccine doses have been collected by the G-7 for distribution since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the final declaration. Chancellor Angela Merkel had also spoken the day before of 2.3 billion vaccine doses. In contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers eleven billion to be necessary.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hinted that an easing of pandemic measures planned for June 21 could be postponed. Johnson said the government must be “cautious” before deciding on the final steps from the lockdown so as not to jeopardize the success of the U.K.’s vaccination program. Experts plan to further investigate the spread of the variant, first detected in India, in the U.K. before details of new measures are announced Monday. Weekly cases in the U.K. have increased by 53 percent to nearly 48,000, the government announced Saturday (June 12). On the same day, 7738 new cases were recorded – the fourth consecutive day of more than 7000 cases and more than double the number recorded at the beginning of the month.

RUSSIA
Russia is testing nasal spray vaccination for children. According to a report by the TASS news agency, Russia plans to market a vaccine for children between 8 and 12 years of age, administered in the form of a nasal spray, starting in September. Scientist Alexander Gintsburg, who heads the Gamaleya Institute, said this on Saturday (12/6). The institute is behind the development of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

BRAZIL
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been fined again for attending an event without a mask. Eduardo Bolsonaro, a member of parliament and the president’s son, and Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes, were also fined 552.71 reais each, the equivalent of 98 francs, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported Saturday (June 12). According to the report, the three did not wear a mask at a motorcycle rally with thousands of supporters in São Paulo and thus violated the regulations of the constituent state.
In India, the number of officially registered new Corona infections has fallen to its lowest level in more than two months. At least 84,332 people contracted the virus within 24 hours, the health ministry said Saturday (June 12) in New Delhi. The number of deaths was comparatively high at 4002, according to the data. Reason for this development was also that member states such as Maharashtra corrected the numbers of deaths recorded since March after an audit upward.