PremiumSupporters of waivers for vaccines argue that poor countries are struggling to get inoculation drives underway while rich countries protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical giants
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he supported the idea of a waiver on patent protections for coronavirus vaccines and urged his government to consider lifting them for Russia's jabs.
A campaign to lift patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines picked up steam on Thursday, with French, German and EU leadership saying they were ready to discuss a proposal by US President Joe Biden before Putin added his voice in support.
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Premium Premium "We are hearing from Europe an idea that, in my opinion, deserves attention -- namely, to remove patent protections from vaccines against Covid-19 altogether," Putin said during a televised meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova.
"Russia would of course support such an approach," Putin said, urging Golikova to work out the logistics.
"As I have said many times... We should not think about how to extract maximum profit, but about how to ensure people's safety."
Supporters of waivers for vaccines argue that poor countries are struggling to get inoculation drives underway while rich countries protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical giants.
Russia has registered three coronavirus vaccines, and on Thursday approved a fourth -- a single-dose version of its Sputnik V jab called Sputnik Light.
Moscow has actively pushed Sputnik V -- named after the Soviet-era satellite -- around the world, with more than 60 countries having approved it for use.
The state-run Gamaleya research institute, which developed Sputnik V, said Thursday that more than 20 million people globally have received their first dose of the shot.
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