Coronavirus: US to back waiving intellectual property protections for vaccines

The global infection rate in has recently climbed as outbreaks in India and other countries have continued to gather momentum

Biden administration believes in IP protections, ‘but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections’, says trade official

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The Biden administration “believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines”, said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Published: 3:59am, 6 May 2021Updated: 10:59pm, 6 May 2021

The US will back a proposal to waive intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, with the Biden administration’s top trade official citing the “extraordinary circumstances” of a pandemic that has yet to be brought under control.

The Biden administration “believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines”, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an official announcement.

“As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the administration will continue to ramp up its efforts – working with the private sector and all possible partners – to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution,” she said.

While the US infection rate has steadily declined since January, it has climbed globally in recent weeks as outbreaks in India – currently the epicentre of the pandemic – and other countries have continued to gather momentum.

India hit a daily record 401,993 cases last week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and is on track to overtake the US as the country with the most cumulative Covid-19 cases at more than 20 million. The global death toll surpassed 3 million last month.