When it comes to the suspension of patents for Covid-19 vaccines, it’s big pharma against the world—or most of it, anyway.
Earlier this month, the US government expressed its support of a waiver to the international agreements governing intellectual property rights. The waiver, proposed in November 2020 by India and South Africa, would allow poor countries to produce Covid-19 vaccines without paying pharmaceutical companies for patent rights, at least until the pandemic is over. This would help increase the global supply of vaccines at a lower price, and make progress toward the goal of vaccinating the global population by the end of the year.
The proposal, to be negotiated through the World Trade Organization, gained the support of many countries, especially low- and middle-income, but found resistance among rich ones, including the EU, Switzerland, the UK, Australia, Canada and, initially, the US. However, the US lifted its opposition earlier this month to expand vaccine supply and access to bring the pandemic to a faster end. With the US government putting its weight behind the proposal, its approval is much more likely.
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