Access to COVID vaccine patents is not the same as access to vaccines
The US has backed India and South Africa s bid to temporarily lift patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines. The support for an IP waiver by the WTO has left pharma companies dismayed and health activists asking for more.
The WTO talks are taking place as some wealthy countries face criticism for cornering billions of COVID shots
US President Joe Biden has thrown his support behind efforts by India, South Africa and dozens of other countries to temporarily suspend intellectual property (IP) protections for coronavirus vaccines, offering hope for countries struggling for doses and leaving vaccine makers exasperated.
RPT-Vaccine IP waiver could take months for WTO to negotiate-experts Reuters 4 hrs ago
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - Now that the U.S. President Joe Biden has backed a proposed waiver for COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights, the next stop is for the World Trade Organization to hammer out a deal - a process that could take months.
Not only are the negotiations expected to be lengthy, they are also likely to result in a waiver that is significantly narrower in scope and shorter in duration than the one initially proposed by India and South Africa, trade experts said.
India s ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu (File photo)
WASHINGTON: India has appreciated the Biden administration s decision to support a proposal moved by it and South Africa to temporarily waive some Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) rules amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For the past several weeks, India s ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with the diplomats from South Africa, had been meeting US lawmakers and officials regarding the proposal. We appreciate the US administration s announcement today of its support for waiver of IPR for Covid-19 vaccines,” Sandhu told PTI on Wednesday.
Making the announcement, US trade representative Katherine Tai said this is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.
ANI | Updated: May 06, 2021 19:40 IST
New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): Welcoming the US support for global waiver on patent protection for COVID-19vaccines, India on Thursday said it is hopeful that the waiver can be approved quickly at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with a consensus-based approach. We welcome the statement of the US government announcing their support for this initiative. We are hopeful that with a consensus-based approach, the waiver can be approved quickly at WTO, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. During his recent phone call on 26 April 2021 with the US President Biden, Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] informed him about India s initiative at the WTO which was aimed at the benefit of humanity, the statement added.
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May 05, 2021 09:06 PM EDT
(Photo : Getty Images/Alex Wong) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: U.S. President Joe Biden leaves after he delivered remarks on the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program during an event at the State Dining Room of the White House May 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden set a new goal to have 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot and at least 160 Americans fully vaccinated by July 4th, 2021.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration stated it would back waiving patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines following weeks of pressure from the international community as India and other nations face spiking surges in virus cases.