U.S. supports waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines

 

--

The Biden administration says it will support a temporary patent waiver around the world... for COVID-19 vaccines.
That would enable more countries to produce them,... which is getting suport from countries struggling to get supplies, but the pharmaceutical industry is opposed to the idea.
Kim Jae-hee reports.
U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed support for a temporary waiver of intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines.

"President Biden, are you going to back a waiver of the WTO? Are you going to back that? Is the U.S. government?"

"Yes. I am going to talk about that later today. Yes."

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a statement on Wednesday said the Biden administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections,... but in order to end the global health crisis, it supports the waiver of such protections for vaccines.
She also stressed that the administration aims to provide safe and effective vaccines to as many people, as soon as possible.
Soon after the statement was released, the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the U.S. support,... hailing it as a "monumental moment" in the fight against the pandemic...