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Intellectual Property And “The Lost Year” Of Covid-19 Deaths, Madhavi Sunder, Haochen Sun
Intellectual Property And “The Lost Year” Of Covid-19 Deaths, Madhavi Sunder, Haochen Sun
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Protecting intellectual property (IP) is a question of life and death. COVID-19 vaccines, partially incentivized by IP, are estimated to have saved nearly 20 million lives worldwide during the first year of their availability in 2021. However, most of the benefits of this life-saving technology went to high- and upper-middle-income countries. Despite 10 billion vaccines being produced by the end of 2021, only 4 percent of people in low-income countries were fully vaccinated. Paradoxically, IP may also be partly responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives lost in 2021, due to an insufficient supply of vaccines and inequitable access during …
Digital Health Passes In The Age Of Covid-19: Are “Vaccine Passports” Lawful And Ethical?, Lawrence O. Gostin, I. Glenn Cohen, Jana Shaw
Digital Health Passes In The Age Of Covid-19: Are “Vaccine Passports” Lawful And Ethical?, Lawrence O. Gostin, I. Glenn Cohen, Jana Shaw
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
As COVID-19 vaccination rates in high-income countries increase, governments are proposing or implementing digital health passes (DHPs) (vaccine “passports” or “certificates”). Israel uses a “green pass” smartphone application permitting vaccinated individuals’ access to public venues (eg, gyms, hotels, entertainment). The European Union plans a “Digital Green Certificate” enabling free travel within the bloc (see eTable in the Supplement). New York is piloting an IBM “Excelsior Pass,” confirming vaccination or negative SARS-CoV-2 test status through confidential data transfers to fast-track business reopenings. This paper examines the benefits of DHPs, scientific challenges, and whether they are lawful and ethical.