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.
“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen,” May 5 statement from the USTR said.
The statement further said that negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the global trade body and the complexity of the issues involved. Last week, Tai had met top vaccine makers such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca to discuss proposed waivers of some provisions of the WTO’s TRIPS agreement for Covid-19.
The development comes against the backdrop of criticism that developed countries are hoarding vaccines. Till now, countries have been divided on the issue, with some developed nations such as the EU and Japan opposing it amid concerns that such waivers will take away protection given to pharma companies.
WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged member nations to support India as it continues to battle the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We need to have a sense of urgency on how we approach this issue of response to COVID-19 because the world is watching,” she said at the meeting of the organisation’s General Council on Wednesday.
In the past, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said that a temporary waiver focuses only on Covid-19 vaccines, associated medicines, and cure.
“The Administration’s aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible.As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts – working with the private sector and all possible partners – to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines,” the statement said.
In a telephonic conversation with US President Joe Biden last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed him about India's initiative at the WTO for a relaxation in the norms of the agreement on TRIPS, in order to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries.
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