Rights waiver will make the world safer
Leaders of the G7 nations must use this week’s summit to agree a temporary waiver of the intellectual property (IP) rights for the coronavirus vaccine to allow more of the world’s population to be vaccinated and quickly, says UNISON today (Thursday).
The G7 nations, whose members include the UK, Canada, Germany and the US, have so far failed to reach agreement on a proposal made last year by India and South Africa to the World Trade Organisation.
This proposal sought to bypass the monopoly held by the pharmaceutical giants over the vaccine market, by temporarily waiving their IP rights.