Covid vaccine patent scandal will prolong pandemic, says Stephen Reicher

The manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines have condemned millions to death with patents that prevent developing countries from copying their formula, a government adviser has said. Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the UK government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), said that vaccine patents were “a vast scandal” that were prolonging the pandemic throughout the world. The latest figures suggest Scotland has recorded 139 new cases of coronavirus but no deaths. The daily test positivity rate was 1.1 per cent, down from 1.5 per cent the previous day, data released by the Scottish government yesterday showed.