Global Vaccine Rivalries Berlin continues to reject Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver. Washington pursues geo-strategic objectives with its call to suspend patents. BERLIN/BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON | | usa BERLIN/BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Own report) - Berlin and the EU are blocking temporary suspension of Covid-19 vaccine patents, even after the US changed its position on the issue. Following the recent EU summit, Chancellor Angela Merkle und European Council President Charles Michel declared that they do not believe that waving patents would be the appropriate step for increased vaccine production. Berlin is particularly worried about BioNTech's mRNA patents. With its patents, the company is expected to significantly contribute to Germany as a biotechnological address. Thus, China should not get its hands on the patents, Chancellor Angela Merkle is quoted to have said. With its move to wave patents, the Biden administration is also taking the competition with China into account. Since India can no longer export vaccines, due to the pandemic's escalation in that country, poorer and emerging countries have been supplied almost exclusively by China and Russia - including with the licenses to produce their own vaccines. Patent waivers could break the Sino-Russian vaccine dominance.