In the clean energy revolution from national grid, helen skelton looks at the huge progress we're all making towards cleaner energy. Listen wherever you get your pole casts, and follow us to make sure you don't miss an episode. This podcast is sponsored by national grids. The clean energy revolution podcast. Climate change is one of the planet's biggest challenges. I will be spaking to experts around the world about reser ding apoewe're entering a new era now. We've new cobet strategies. There's some new unknowns, and we've got a bexine. Welcome to corona pot.
In surprise news this week, the US government announced its support for waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, in an effort to boost supplies around the world.As fewer than 1% of people living in low-income countries have received COVID-19 vaccines, it is hoped that this move is a major step towards addressing this inequity by allowing manufacturers to legally produce generic versions of vaccines. We discuss the next steps that need to be taken to make this a reality, and why there is opposition to the plan.
Also on the podcast, we look at another aspect of coronavirus inequity: the sharing of genomic data. Around the world, researchers are racing to upload SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences to repositories, to help in the fight against the pandemic. One popular data repository, GISAID, requires users to sign in and acknowledge those whose data they analyse. Although a growing faction of scientists from wealthy nations are calling for the removal of gatekeeping requirements, scientists in the global south are pushing back, arguing that this will deprive them of credit and chances to participate in big-data analyses.
News: In shock move, US backs waiving patents on COVID vaccines
News: Why some researchers oppose unrestricted sharing of coronavirus genome data
News: Scientists call for fully open sharing of coronavirus genome data
Science: Coronavirus sequence trove sparks frustration
New York Times: Pfizer Reaps Hundreds of Millions in Profits From Covid Vaccine
Washington Post: Poor countries may not be vaccinated until 2024. Here’s how to prevent that.
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