US backs TRIPS waiver on COVID-19 vaccines at WTO; is this good news for India? ANI | Updated: May 06, 2021 13:41 IST
By Naveen Kapoor
Washington DC [US], May 6 (ANI): The United States is proving to be a real friend to India as it continues to battle the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After sending tonnes of medical aid in form of oxygen concentrators, generators, and critical medicine like Remdesivir to Delhi, the US has now decided to back India/South Africa joint proposal for TRIPS waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
US trade representative Ambassador Katherine Tai said, These extraordinary times and circumstances call for extraordinary measures, The US supports the waiver of IP protection on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and will actively participate in WTO negotiation to make that happen.
The US on Wednesday backed temporarily suspending intellectual property protection for coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines, a move aimed at enabling more countries to get equitable access to vaccines. US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said an ‘extraordinary measure’ to support waiver of intellectual property (IP) protection on Covid-19 vaccine has been taken to help end the pandemic. The US will also actively participate in the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) negotiations to make that happen. India and South Africa, along with 57 other WTO members, have co-sponsored a proposal for temporary waiver from certain provisions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. The waiver, if adopted, will help nations overcome legal barriers stopping them from coming up with their own vaccine for Covid-19.
COVAX: Enhance Transparency, Share Intellectual Property
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Global Vaccine Initiative Should Fulfill Its Human Rights Responsibilities
(New York) – The COVAX vaccine initiative should publish its contracts with vaccine developers and facilitate sharing of intellectual property to make vaccines swiftly available and affordable for all, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Public Citizen said today. COVAX, which was created in April 2020 to procure and distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, should incorporate human rights standards and principles of transparency and accountability.
The groups wrote to the leadership of COVAX on December 14 with questions related to COVAX human rights policies and practices, and recommendations related to transparency and vaccine availability and affordability, among others. COVAX responded in detail in a March 25, 2021 letter, following a preliminary response on January 6.
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