Government-opposition clash over Italian abstention in the UN vote on the pandemic declaration

The vote at the United Nations for the response to pandemics sparks a new clash between government and opposition. With the Democratic Party and the 5 Stars pointing the finger at Italy's abstention, which in fact occurred together with that of Europe and the United States. And the doctors who intervene and bring attention.

The reactions were prompted by an article in the New York Times on the rejection of a declaration by UN member countries that committed to international collaboration and solidarity in preparing for and responding to pandemics.

The declaration has a symbolic and non-binding value, but its unanimous approval would have signaled a global political commitment on the issue. Pushback has come from the United States, but also from the European Union. Italy was also among the countries that abstained. The issue, we learn, is not opposition to vaccines or an underestimation of the problem, but rather rules on intellectual property relating to future vaccines, with the request that the transfer of technology, even if for anti-pandemic purposes, must take place on a voluntary basis by companies that have worked on decades-long trials.

The news of the Italian abstention does not escape the Medical Association, which reacts with "concern". "We ask the Government to clarify the reasons for its choice and what position it intends to take when the text is presented to the General Assembly", says the president of the Medical Associations (Fnomceo), Filippo Anelli. "Covid has taught us - he continues in a note - that a virus can cross borders in a few days, while vaccines can take many months to reach the poorest countries. The protection of intellectual property must be accompanied by agreements capable of ensuring the timely sharing of scientific information and fair access to vaccines and medicines".

Ilenia Malavasi, group leader of the Democratic Party in the Social Affairs Commission of the Chamber, asks the government to "clarify", specifying that "Italy's abstention weighs like a failure" and "is a slap in the face to public health, scientific research and the memory of the thousands of victims of Covid 19". Marina Sereni, health manager of the Democratic Party, speaks of "shame". "At the United Nations once again, Italy joins the USA. Sovereignty, with its refusal to cooperate and the lack of transparent and shared rules, brings not only wars but also very serious risks to collective health".

In an electoral campaign atmosphere, the theme is relaunched by the Five Star Movement. With the vice president of the Senate Mariolina Castellone stating: "This is a political text that supports cooperation, information sharing and fair access to vaccines and health tools, not a constraint imposed from abroad. What's so indigestible?". MP Andrea Quartini, coordinator of the M5S Health Committee, follows her: "if a new virus arrives tomorrow, it is not enough to have a vaccine on paper, it must be able to be produced and distributed quickly, guaranteeing treatment for everyone. Covid has taught us that health inequalities become deeper in emergencies".