Patent Absurdities: Canada & Global Vaccine (In)Equity
with Adam Houston, BSc, JD, MA, LLM, PhD candidate

Canada's oft-presumed role as a positive force in global health has been shaken by COVID-19, with regular proclamations that the pandemic is not over anywhere until it's over everywhere being undermined by actions like securing for itself from the limited global supply the world's most doses of COVID-19 vaccine per capita. This presentation will explore Canada's role in vaccine (in)equity, from issues of patents and access, to COVAX and vaccine nationalism.

Adam R. Houston focuses on law and policy at the intersection of global health and human rights, with a particular emphasis on infectious disease and access to medicines. He has worked with organizations across Canada and around the world on issues such as United Nations accountability for the Haitian cholera epidemic, and reconciling disparate legal/policy approaches towards HIV and tuberculosis. He has almost completed his PhD in law at the University of Ottawa, focusing on access to Essential Medicines, and serves as the Medical Policy & Advocacy Officer for Médecins sans frontières/Doctors Without Borders Canada (MSF).