To end the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible and prevent unnecessary further loss of lives, everyone in the world needs access to safe and effective vaccines. The current vaccine supply is insufficient – at this rate, some countries will not be in a position to access vaccines until 2024. Therefore, the manufacturing capacity needs to be maximised. We need more available, certified pharmaceutical companies to use their factories to produce vaccines. To enable them to do so, current vaccine makers must share their intellectual property rights (such as patents), know-how and technology with other pharmaceutical companies.