Are You Too Cool To Pool?

Alyshea discusses the initiatives in support of patent pooling for a COVID-19 vaccine and its pros and cons

The year 2020 has been a challenging one, not just for us as Malaysians, but for mankind across the world. The first outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China in December 2019¹, and spread to 213 Countries and Territories around the world. The pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has affected over nine million people and has claimed the lives of over 484,000² regardless of race, religion, and status, and wreaked havoc to the global economy, causing massive layoffs and pay-cuts in many countries. As a result of strict lockdowns requiring people to stay indoors in many countries, demand for oil has dried up leading to the price of oil at an all-time low and has practically obliterated the tourism and travel industry.