Lawrence O. Gostin

The Pandemic Agreement text finalized yesterday isn't the 'final' text. It needs edits before @WHO issues a 'clean' version.  Given WHO Constitution (arts 19 & 20) provisions on signature & entry into force, the final Agreement can't enter into force until the annex is created

Today in @MilbankFund, @BhadeliaMD, Laura White and I describe the "Perfect Storm" fueling the measles epidemic: vaccine disinformation, low vaccination rates, and weakening of national and global public health https://t.co/3cruqmHj2y

First global pandemic treaty agreed — without the US https://t.co/IWsCtVYTjN

The @WHO Pandemic Agreement contains norms that are often vague. But this achievement cannot be overstated The treaty has norms never before codified in int'l law After all the suffering, death, & inequities of the pandemic, the treaty will keep us safer & make us fairer

Kudos to @WHO @DrTedros & INB. The Pandemic Agreement is all green & headed for adoption at the WHA. It’s a triumph of global solidarity in a world torn asunder by the COVID pandemic and US withdrawal from WHO. International cooperation makes everyone safer.

WHO is on the verge of history. The INB has now greened key text on tech transfer (art 11) & PABS (art 12). Russia is pushing for tech transfer "as feasible" but it won't fly There's also a proposal to disallow state reservations (art 27) on PABS or the Annex, which makes sense

My appreciation to @keithmartinmd @CUGHnews for this interview on Trump & Global Health. I have tried to stay composed in the face of Trump's assault on global health. But it's time to say that Trump is gratuitously mean & his actions are immoral WATCH https://t.co/E0GUoaWQYn

Global Health Leader Interview Series: Professor Larry Gostin https://t.co/E0GUoaWQYn via @YouTube @CUGHnews

In Medina v Planned Parenthood, SCOTUS will decide if Medicaid beneficiaries can use civil rights law (42 USC 1983) to prevent state officials from denying access to their chosen providers. The real issue is state efforts to defund @PPFA https://t.co/PngaO1eyeF

Tomorrow @WHO INB will agree on a Pandemic Agreement Legal process: ★ Adoption won't occur until WHA ★ Art 19 grants WHA power to “adopt conventions or agreements” by 2/3 vote ★ Enters into force when members ratify ★ Art 20 directs states to “take action” w/in 18 months

The world is coming together sans US. The INB must now draft the WHA resolution and a negotiated pathway on a PABS Annex. Seems to me that the Pandemic Treaty is the antidote to Trumpism.

All the positions within the DoD Medical Ethics Center (DMEC) have been eliminated. I suppose this means that our military doesn’t need thoughtful guidance on acting ethically. Shouldn’t acting accordingly to the highest ethics be the DoD’s duty?

We’ve made history The Pandemic Treaty, arts 4 & 5 on prevention & One Health are now greened For the first time, One Health is in a legally binding instrument well as an article on prevention of pandemics at the earliest possible stage before humans & animals become infected

Effective today Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, Director, @Fogarty_NIH was placed on admin leave. We are losing scientists at NIH & Fogarty who have worked tirelessly for the public good The world should not be like this The US is far better than this We stand up for science & public health

News from Geneva. INB will end Tuesday “with several pieces to resolve” Negotiators will clarify positions w/ their capitals Sticking points in tech transfer & PABS, but I'm optimistic the Pandemic Treaty has a path to adoption in May. It'd be a huge win for @WHO & global health

Pandemic Treaty Negotiations have just been completed and the text has big wins for global public health. Art 11 may still be sticky. I urge the INB to prepare a resolution for adoption at WHA. It’s a win for solidarity and humankind in an age of cascading global crises.

The Africa & Equity Groups insist that the term “voluntary” must not be in the Pandemic Agreement (Art 11). They are fighting to defend domestic laws permitting non-voluntary tech transfer. They are right. The whole point of the treaty is to advance equity & not to erode it.