22 September 2020
For the production of medical knowledge as a public good
22 September|medico international (Germany) et al.
The world has become a patient. The new corona virus is a global medical riddle that governments, pharmaceutical companies and international organizations are trying to decipher in a unity rarely seen before. The level of cross-border exchange of data, research methods and evidence underlines the crucial role played by transnational communities of scientists* and experts*. With the development and the clinical testing of a vaccine, many hope that the virus will be all but contained, the rest a matter of logistics.
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Because the history of every epidemic is also a story of the interplay of knowledge, power and politics. Not only do some governments downplay the danger of the virus, thereby endangering thousands of lives. In order to be able to counter Covid-19 successfully, the world's governments must first create the conditions for making research results transparent and accessible and for considering medical knowledge including treatment options as the common good of mankind. This is required in order to find a vaccine more quickly and at the same time to ensure equitable distribution of it.ÂÂÂÂ
