BRITAIN’S AstraZeneca vaccine must be “a people’s vaccine” with the drug company’s deal with the government made publicly available, campaigners demanded today.

The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has been found to have an average efficacy rate of 70 per cent.  

Global Justice Now pharmaceuticals campaigner Heidi Chow said that with so much government funding, the deal must be made public. 

She said: “Individual parts have been leaked to the media, but the deal itself has been kept secret, so we don’t know the legal framework for making the vaccine available to the world.  
 
“The pledge not to make profit during the pandemic is positive, but without AstraZeneca opening the books on their costs and explaining how and when they can declare the end of the pandemic, affordable access could be an illusion.

“We already know they are able to add 20 per cent to the cost of manufacture for nebulous ‘expenses’.”
 
AstraZeneca say contracts already signed for the three billion doses it can produce in 2021 will be distributed among a wider range of countries than the rival Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

However, Ms Chow warned this still falls short of the doses needed across the world.

She said: “Leaving people who are most at risk in lower-income countries without a vaccine for potentially years is self-defeating as the virus could mutate, rendering the vaccines hoarded by rich countries useless. 

“The public has contributed almost £1 billion to this vaccine’s research and development while tens of thousands of people around the world have volunteered in its trials. 

“This means we have the right not just to see the deal but also to demand that this is truly a people’s vaccine.”

We Own It director Cat Hobbs said: “Throughout this pandemic, the government has been signing deals with the private sector and keeping the details hidden from the public. The AstraZeneca vaccine is just the latest of these. 

“As the country moves into the next stage of our pandemic response, it’s crucial that the government stops splurging millions on contracts with private companies – many of whom are their mates.”

Ms Hobbs called on the government to prioritise public health over private profit, ensuring that any immunisation programme is rolled out through the NHS, primary care services and local public health teams rather than private companies.