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Harry and Meghan make huge intervention in British politics by signing open letter


Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have weighed into politics after signing an open letter from The People’s Vaccines.

Despite stepping down as senior royals in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed the letter which demands coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests be “freely available to everyone, everywhere”.

Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, were among many prominent figures who signed the People’s Vaccine letter which was released on Friday afternoon, as it called for “an end to vaccine monopolies” from Western countries.

The Sussex’s were alongside more than 130 former world leaders, Nobel laureates, scientists and others, signed the open letter calling “for urgent action to vaccinate low and middle-income countries and bring an end to the Covid-19 pandemic “.



Harry and Meghan
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visit One World Observatory

As reported in the Express, the letter criticises the EU, UK, Germany and Switzerland for continuing “to block the lifting of intellectual property rules which would enable the redistribution and scale-up of COVID-19 vaccine, test and treatment manufacturing in the global south”.

It then makes five demands to world leaders:

  • To “urgently agree and implement a global roadmap to deliver the WHO goal of fully vaccinating 70% of people by mid-2022”.
  • Maximise the production of safe and effective vaccines and other COVID-19 products by suspending relevant intellectual property rules
  • Invest public funding now in a rapid and massive increase in vaccine manufacturing as well as research and development (R&D) capacity
  • Make COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere, and allocated according to need
  • Scale-up sustainable investment in public health systems to ensure that low- and middle-income country governments have adequate resources

The open letter goes on to warn “the pandemic is not over”, and blamed “self-defeating nationalism, pharmaceutical monopolies and inequality” for not vaccinating the world against Covid.

It then added: “The transfer of largely publicly funded vaccine technology and know-how from pharmaceutical corporations would fast track production to a matter of months.

“Yet still today, a handful of these corporations retain the power to dictate vaccine supply, distribution and price – and the power to decide who lives and who dies.”

The UK has vowed to donate 100million coronavirus vaccine doses within the next year to low-income countries as part of at least 1billion doses due from the G7.

Earlier on Friday, the Duke and Duchess’ Archewell Foundation officially partnered with The People’s Vaccine, with investment into the coalition.

In a statement, the People’s Vaccine said: “We are proud to welcome Archewell Foundation to the Alliance and appreciate their support, alongside Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“We will work together to end vaccine inequity and ensure COVID-19 vaccines, treatments + tests are available to everyone.”

They added Archewell’s support “will go toward the Alliance’s ongoing campaigns and efforts to secure fair vaccine access for low and middle-income countries”.

Earlier on Friday, the Duke and Duchess’ Archewell Foundation officially partnered with The People’s Vaccine, with investment into the coalition.

In October 2021, Harry and Meghan joined the World Health Organization (WHO) and Save the Children in appealing to G20 leaders to honour promises to send Covid-19 vaccines to low-income countries.

In a two-page letter, the Duke and Duchess called for the world’s wealthiest countries to accelerate long-promised donations and break the hold pharmaceutical companies have over access to vaccines.

The letter, also signed by other leading health charities, said: “Every discarded dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, when there are the mechanisms to donate them, should outrage us all.

“Each dose represents a real person – a mother, father, daughter, or son – who could have been protected.”

Harry was also filmed speaking in at Global Citizen Live New York in September, saying: “Many of these vaccines were publicly funded, they are your vaccines – you paid for them.”

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