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More support easing vaccine patent rules, but hurdles remain
France has joined the United States in supporting an easing of patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines that could help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic
By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press
May 6, 2021, 2:40 PM
• 6 min read
The Associated Press
FILE - In this April 8, 2021, file photo, a Northwell Health registered nurses fills a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a pop up vaccination site at the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in the Staten Island borough of New York. The Biden administration on Wednesday, May 5, joined calls for more sharing of the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines to help speed the end of the pandemic, a shift that puts the U.S. alongside many in the developing world who want rich countries to do more to get doses to the needy. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
World Mulls Next Step as US Backs Waiving Patent Protections on Vaccines The move to support waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines under World Trade Organization rules marked a dramatic shift for the United States By Jamey Keaten •
Updated 1 hour ago
NBCUniversal Media, LLC
Activists cheered, Big Pharma complained and government leaders assessed next steps on Thursday after the Biden administration’s blockbuster move to support an easing of patent and other protections on COVID-19 vaccines that many hope will help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic.
The move to support waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines under World Trade Organization rules marked a dramatic shift for the United States, which had previously lined up with many other developed nations opposed to the idea floated by India and South Africa.
The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 27-nation bloc was ready to talk about the U.S. proposal but cagily remained noncommittal for now.
“We are ready to discuss how the U.S. proposal for waiver on intellectual property protection for COVID vaccines could help” end the crisis, she said in a video address. “In the short run, however, we call upon all vaccine producing countries to allow exports and to avoid measures that disrupt supply chains.”
That echoed the position of the global pharmaceutical industry, which insists a faster solution would be for rich countries that have vaccine stockpiles to start sharing them with poorer ones.
Coronavirus: Support grows for patent waiver on virus vaccines; snags remain ctvnews.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ctvnews.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More support easing vaccine patent rules, but hurdles remain
JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press
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1of5French President Emmanuel Macron talks to the press as he visits a giant vaccination center against the Covid-19 during its inauguration at Porte de Versailles convention centre in Paris, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (Christophe Archambault, Pool Photo via AP)Christophe Archambault/APShow MoreShow Less
2of5FILE - In this April 8, 2021, file photo, a Northwell Health registered nurses fills a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a pop up vaccination site at the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in the Staten Island borough of New York. The Biden administration on Wednesday, May 5, joined calls for more sharing of the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines to help speed the end of the pandemic, a shift that puts the U.S. alongside many in the developing world who want rich countries to do more to get doses to the needy.Mary Altaffer/APShow Mo