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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at Canvas Kick Off at the carpenters Union in Scranton, Pennsylvania on November 3, 2020. | AFP/Angela Weiss
US President Joe Biden s administration on Wednesday announced support for a global waiver on patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, offering hope to poor nations that have struggled to access the life-saving doses.
India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to allow more drugmakers to manufacture the vaccines – a move pharma giants oppose.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while intellectual property rights for businesses are important, Washington supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines in order to end the pandemic.
“Based on the current attitude of the Australian Commonwealth Government toward China-Australia cooperation, the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China decides to indefinitely suspend all activities under the framework of the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue,” it said in a statement. As treasurer, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the last minister’s to travel to Beijing under the dialogue in 2017. He met with large Chinese investors and Chairman He Lifeng of China’s National Development and Reform Commission to discuss “opportunities for Australian and Chinese businesses to cooperate.” The relationship has deteriorated sharply since then, driven initially by Australia’s decision to ban Huawei from the 5G network in 2018 and introduce foreign interference laws, and furthered last year over disputes concerning the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and national security.
In welcome news for poor nations, US backs waiver for coronavirus vaccine patents
World
File photo
US President Joe Biden s government has announced its support for a global initiative to waive patents for the coronavirus vaccines, as poor nations continue to struggle to get their populations vaccinated.
India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow more drugmakers to manufacture the vaccines a move pharma giants oppose.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while intellectual property rights for businesses are important, Washington supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines in order to end the pandemic.
US announces support for waiver on coronavirus vaccine patents
By
US President Joe Biden signals during a speech. Photo: AFP
In what is being termed as a welcome development for poor nations, US President Joe Biden s administration has backed the initiative to waive global patent protections for coronavirus vaccines.
India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow more drugmakers to manufacture the vaccines a move pharma giants oppose.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while intellectual property rights for businesses are important, Washington supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines in order to end the pandemic.
Germany has opposed the US call to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines for poor countries by removing patent protections on the jabs.
A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so in the future.”
She said Germany is focused instead on how to increase vaccine manufacturers’ production capacity.
Activists and humanitarian institutions cheered after the US reversed course on Wednesday and called for a waiver of intellectual property protections on the vaccine.
The decision ultimately is up to the 164-member World Trade Organisation, and if just one country votes against a waiver, the proposal will fail.