Could US-Germany rift derail coronavirus vaccine patent waiver?
- Several nations praise US call to remove patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines
- Proposal faces resistance from pharmaceutical industry and others, including Germany
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla meanwhile said his company was “not at all” in favour of the measure, insisting intellectual property was not the main roadblock to more production and that building new plants would be counterproductive.
Rich nations have faced accusations of hoarding shots while poor countries struggle to get inoculation programmes off the ground, with the virus surging across the developing world in contrast to the easing of restrictions in Europe and the United States.
The problem was highlighted as India, one of the worst-hit countries, reported another record daily rise in coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing total new cases for the week to 1.57 million.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the announcement as “a monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19”.