India pitches for early start to talks on patent waiver for Covid drugs
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Members have agreed to discuss both the proposals; the one suggested by India and South Africa and another by the European Union, which backs use of flexibilities within existing frameworks instead of new ones.
AFP
In a significant breakthrough, World Trade Organization (WTO) members on Wednesday agreed to engage in a text-based discussion on the proposal for waiver intellectual protection rights for Covid medication.
Members have agreed to discuss both the proposals; the one suggested by India and South Africa and another by the European Union, which backs use of flexibilities within existing frameworks instead of new ones.
When President Joe Biden delivered his address to Congress, he promised to protect American jobs and bring foreign manufacturing, particularly from China, back to the United States. But in another move to appease socialist Democrats and the most extreme members of his party, Biden announced support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
President Biden has announced that the United States is releasing 25 million doses from its stockpiles, most of which will be distributed through the WHO’s Covax program, with another 55.
The European Parliament endorsed a resolution on Wednesday (9 June) calling for a temporary waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents, while the Commission remained firm in its opposition to such measures and said it has different plans to speed up the global vaccine rollout.
“India and South Africa’s proposal has achieved tremendous mileage and tremendous progression at a very fast pace,” Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said