Say manufacturing requires special gear, key inputs; India-S Africa waiver plan must first pass muster at WTO
Vaccine-makers are treading with caution on the opportunity that will open up for them if a proposal to waive the intellectual property (IP) on Covid-19 vaccines comes good at the World Trade Organization.
The initial proposal from India and South Africa at the WTO sought a temporary IP waiver on Covid-19 medicines, diagnostics and vaccines for the pandemic period. And, late on Wednesday, the US administration said it would support an IP waiver on vaccines. The proposal still needs a go-ahead from all WTO members, after which negotiations will start to frame the context for the IP waiver, especially in terms of how long it would be allowed.
COVID: Israelis enjoy their newfound freedom
Oceania
A
Fijian hospital has gone under lockdown by the military and police after a patient died of COVID. The patient was just the third to die from the illness in the country.
Health authorities said that they were quarantining 400 patients, doctors, nurses and staff within the building until they can determine who was in close contact with the deceased patient. The nation s leaders are concerned that the latest outbreak is spreading across the country, with 28 ongoing cases of community transmission.
Africa
Kenya, a few days after it was detected in neighboring
Uganda. This variant has been picked (up) in Kenya and because of global connectivity, it is just a question of time. You cannot be able to put barriers…to prevent a virus from accessing your territory, said the ministry s director general, Dr. Patrick Amoth. Kenya and Uganda have both suspended all flights to India.
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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.
5/6/2021 Waiver talk is grandstanding , analyst says Big Pharma shares plunge on Biden comments
By Philip Blenkinsop and Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS, May 6 (Reuters) - The European Union is willing to
discuss a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for
COVID-19 vaccines, European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen said on Thursday, as drugmakers fought their ground and
their share prices slipped.
U.S. President Joe Biden voiced support on Wednesday for a
waiver in a reversal of the U.S. position, and his top trade
negotiator, Katherine Tai, swiftly endorsed negotiations at the
World Trade Organization.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reached for capital
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The European Union is willing to discuss a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday, as drugmakers fought their ground and their share prices slipped.
US President Joe Biden voiced support on Wednesday for a waiver in a reversal of the US position, and his top trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, swiftly endorsed negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Mr Biden s move a monumental moment in the fight against #COVID19 on Twitter, and said it reflected the wisdom and moral leadership of the United States .