US backs vaccine patent waiver

US backs vaccine patent waiver

WASHINGTON: The United States threw its weight behind a waiver on patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines as India yesterday posted record deaths and infections from a catastrophic wave swamping the country. Rich nations have faced accusations of hoarding shots while poor countries struggle to get inoculation programs off the ground, with the virus surging across the developing world in contrast to the easing of restrictions in Europe and the United States.

Under intense pressure to ease protections for vaccine manufacturers, Washington’s Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Wednesday the country “supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines”. “The extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” she said in a statement. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the “historic” move and said it marked “a monumental moment in the fight against COVID-19”.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen-who has previously voiced reluctance to waive patents-said yesterday the bloc was ready to discuss the US proposal to do so. EU governments lined up to weigh in, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying he was “absolutely in favor” of a global waiver, while Germany said it was open to discussing the proposal.

But the move is opposed by a consortium