Fri 22 October 2021:
White House Calls On WTO For Intellectual Property Waiver To Boost Vaccine Manufacturing
The White House is urging all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to back the US initiative for an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines in order to boost production in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“We also reiterate support for an intellectual property waiver and bolstering manufacturing here at home and abroad, as we recognize this milestone, it’s clear that the world must do more in our global COVID-19 response,” Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing. “We also need every WTO member to step up as well and support an intellectual property waiver, and every company must act ambitiously and urgently to expand manufacturing now.”
The US announced in May that it would support negotiations on a proposed waiver.
But the European Commission, representing the European Union member states, Switzerland, and several other high-income governments have consistently stalled and blocked efforts to swiftly adopt the waiver, according to the release.
Pharmaceutical companies and governments in the United States and the European Union have been criticized for refusing to waive intellectual property patents for vaccine manufacture, which would allow lower-income countries to benefit from increased manufacturing capacity. The UN recently highlighted the massive imbalance in COVID-19 vaccination access, with around 90% of the 5 billion shots delivered in ten countries.
According to a September Human Rights Watch study, major pharmaceutical companies’ lobbying in wealthy countries has stalled a proposal to temporarily waive global trade and intellectual property laws to widen access to COVID-19 vaccines.
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