Waiving vaccine patents will not result in swifter availability in less developed nations. Developing countries obviously need Covid-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines as quickly as possible. But removing intellectual property protections could in fact slow that down.
In the past, when developing countries have issued “compulsory licenses” which effectively allow domestic manufacturers to create knockoff treatments even before drug patents expire it has taken years for generic manufacturers to receive the drug formulas and scale up production. Such extreme measures simply aren’t necessary.
The companies that created lifesaving Covid-19 vaccines and therapies have already promised to share them widely in the developing world. Waiving patents wouldn’t speed the rollout of existing vaccines, but it would ensure we’re less prepared to fight the next pandemic, setting a terrible precedent that will chill future medical innovation.