MEPs call for action on Covid-19 vaccine liability and donations Today Irish Green MEPs and other MEPs from various political groups have written to the Commission requesting further action on promoting vaccine justice around the world.In the letter MEPs criticised the EU for neglecting vaccine uptake in low-income countries, saying that a strategy that prioritises vaccination in EU Member States alone will not resolve the Covid-19 pandemic.The letter proposes a series of measures that would help vaccinate the rest of the world, including dropping liability vis-a-vis the poorest countries; coordination efforts to ensure Covid-19 vaccine batches due to expire are donated within a workable time-period; and ensuring ongoing negotiations for vaccine donations under the COVAX programme help rather than hinder donation efforts.The letter also urges the Commission to ensure targets on vaccine donations are met, and recalls other measures that the European Parliament has previously called for, including support for a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19.Ciarán Cuffe, Greens//EFA MEP for Dublin, said:‘’Vaccine injustice cannot continue. The reality today is that those most able to pay can secure Covid-19 vaccines, while those less well-off in the world have little to no prospect of being vaccinated. This inequality means sickness and death for so many in the world, and there is so much more the Commission and Member States can do to stop this. No-one is safe until everyone is safe, and vaccinating the world will also reduce the incidence of variants emerging.This is why we need action on liability, which is a barrier to those wanting to donate and receive vaccines. It’s also why we need information-gathering and coordination efforts on vaccine batches at EU level to ensure none go to waste. We know there is an oversupply of vaccines in the EU and it is estimated 10% may expire by the end of the year. This is a scandal that must end immediately.’’Grace O’Sullivan, MEP for Ireland South said: “Covid-19 continues to present challenges for all of us. As case numbers rise in Ireland and other EU countries, and we find ourselves on tenterhooks around the potential for further loss of life and increasing levels of strain on our medical systems again, it's time to broaden the scope of our concerns.“We face this pandemic from a very privileged position. It's a position of inequality when vaccines are not reaching enough people in parts of the globe already pressurised by poverty, conflict and other crippling challenges. It's time for a fair and equal distribution of vaccines globally. It's about doing what's right, but also about doing what's sensible. Higher levels of vaccine distribution globally raises safety levels for all.”