World pushes for waiver on vaccines patent, property rights

A nurse vaccinates a person with the Astra-Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Activists cheered, Big Pharma complained and government leaders assessed the next steps yesterday after the Biden administration’s blockbuster move to support an easing of patent and other protections on Covid-19 vaccines that many hope will help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic.

The move to support waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines under World Trade Organisation rules marked a dramatic shift for the United States, which had previously lined up with many other developed nations opposed to the idea floated by India and South Africa.