Coronavirus vaccine: US announces its support to release patents for Covid-19 vaccines

The US Government announced on Wednesday its support for a worldwide lifting of patent protections for vaccines against Covid-19 with the aim of accelerating their production and distribution globally and achieving a real victory in the fight against the virus as soon as possible The Government Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, explained that although intellectual property rights for companies are important – they are decisive, in fact, to promote pharmaceutical research and discover new solutions to diseases – On this occasion and given the global emergency, it is time to promote an exception, so that his country “supports the exemption of these protections for vaccines against Covid-19.” Thus, he has announced that Washington has been “actively” involved. in the negotiations that are being carried out in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to obtain this exemption. “This is a global health crisis and the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic call for extraordinary measures.” India and South Africa are demanding the temporary release of vaccine patents in order to speed up production, but some countries are against it, including France, which advocates Rather, for donations to the most disadvantaged nations. Powerful pharmaceutical companies, for their part, oppose the suspension of their patents globally, arguing that it would discourage costly research. Tai acknowledges that negotiations in the WTO “will take time given the consensual nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues at stake.””The goal is to provide as many safe and effective vaccines as possible to the largest number of people as quickly as possible,” Tai insisted, in a context of widespread advancement of the pandemic, especially in India. “The government will continue to intensify its efforts, in collaboration with the private sector and all potential partners, to expand the manufacture and distribution of vaccines,” added the ambassador. WHO welcomes this “historic decision” The director of the World Organization for Health (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday welcomed the “historic decision” of the United States to support a temporary lifting of the patents of anticovid vaccines to accelerate their production and distribution in the world. “I congratulate the United States for this decision historic, “tweeted Tedros, who called for moving” all together quickly, in solidarity, to harness the ingenuity and commitment of the scientists who produced the life-saving covid-19 vaccines. “