The COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Waiver Fight Is Far From Over
The waiver s timing and scope, plus the transfer of technological know-how and development of manufacturing infrastructure, will all be fiercely debated.
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President Joe Biden and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are under industry pressure to make a COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property waiver as narrow as possible.
The Biden administration’s announcement last Wednesday that it planned to support waiving intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines prompted praise from global public health advocates and outcry from the pharmaceutical industry and corporate America more broadly.
But the historic statement of support, issued by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, does not make the waiver a done deal. Even if successful, the availability of vaccines could vary greatly based on the final details of the waiver.