US announces support for waiver on coronavirus vaccine patents
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US President Joe Biden signals during a speech. Photo: AFP
In what is being termed as a welcome development for poor nations, US President Joe Biden's administration has backed the initiative to waive global patent protections for coronavirus vaccines.
India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow more drugmakers to manufacture the vaccines -- a move pharma giants oppose.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while intellectual property rights for businesses are important, Washington "supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines" in order to end the pandemic.