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WHO chief: waive Covid vaccine patents to put world on 'war footing'
Source: The Guardian
WHO chief: waive Covid vaccine patents to put world on 'war footing'
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he supports patent waiver to help countries make and sell cheap vaccine copies
Sarah Boseley Health editor
Fri 5 Mar 2021 12.00 GMT
The normal rules of business that protect the profits of vaccine manufacturers will have to be set aside if that is what it takes to ensure everybody is immunised against the coronavirus, according to the director general of the World Health Organization.
Writing in the Guardian, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the world needs to be “on a war footing”. Before a key meeting of the World Trade Organization next week on the anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic, he supports a patent waiver that would allow countries to make and sell cheap copies of vaccines that were invented elsewhere.
“We are living through an exceptional moment in history and must rise to the challenge,” he says. “Flexibilities in trade regulations exist for emergencies, and surely a global pandemic which has forced many societies to shut down and caused so much harm to business – both large and small – qualifies. We need to be on a war footing and it’s important to be clear about what is needed.”
The WTO meeting will discuss a proposal for a waiver of intellectual property rights – in this case, vaccine patents – put forward by South Africa and India and now supported by 100 countries. Member governments are split on the issue, broadly with low- and middle-income countries in support and rich countries opposed.
In the Guardian article, Tedros argues that the manufacturers will still get some reimbursement. “Waiving patents temporarily won’t mean innovators miss out. Like during the HIV crisis or in a war, companies will be paid royalties for the products they manufacture,” he says.
-snip-
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he supports patent waiver to help countries make and sell cheap vaccine copies
Sarah Boseley Health editor
Fri 5 Mar 2021 12.00 GMT
The normal rules of business that protect the profits of vaccine manufacturers will have to be set aside if that is what it takes to ensure everybody is immunised against the coronavirus, according to the director general of the World Health Organization.
Writing in the Guardian, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the world needs to be “on a war footing”. Before a key meeting of the World Trade Organization next week on the anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic, he supports a patent waiver that would allow countries to make and sell cheap copies of vaccines that were invented elsewhere.
“We are living through an exceptional moment in history and must rise to the challenge,” he says. “Flexibilities in trade regulations exist for emergencies, and surely a global pandemic which has forced many societies to shut down and caused so much harm to business – both large and small – qualifies. We need to be on a war footing and it’s important to be clear about what is needed.”
The WTO meeting will discuss a proposal for a waiver of intellectual property rights – in this case, vaccine patents – put forward by South Africa and India and now supported by 100 countries. Member governments are split on the issue, broadly with low- and middle-income countries in support and rich countries opposed.
In the Guardian article, Tedros argues that the manufacturers will still get some reimbursement. “Waiving patents temporarily won’t mean innovators miss out. Like during the HIV crisis or in a war, companies will be paid royalties for the products they manufacture,” he says.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/05/covid-vaccines-who-chief-backs-patent-waiver-to-boost-production
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