US USTR Representative Supports COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver... Biden Also Says "Yes"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. government has officially announced its support for waiving patents on COVID-19 vaccines. President Joe Biden also expressed the same position.

USTR Representative Katherine Tai stated in a press release on the 5th (local time) that the U.S. government supports this and will continue efforts to expand vaccine production and increase raw material supply to address vaccine inequality.

Representative Tai said, "The U.S. government strongly supports intellectual property protection, but supports the suspension of patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines to end the pandemic."

President Biden also responded "yes" when asked whether the U.S. would support the World Trade Organization (WTO) waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines.

Tai added, "The Biden administration's goal is to provide safe and effective vaccines to as many people as possible as quickly as possible," and "With vaccine supply secured for the American people, we will work with all possible partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution."

Tai's remarks are interpreted as the U.S. government deciding, after intense discussions, to support a temporary patent suspension to address the vaccination gap between developed and developing countries rather than expanding domestic vaccine production.

Representative Tai has recently met with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and vaccine manufacturers' representatives to discuss this issue.

She also expressed the opinion just a day earlier that sharing vaccine patents could resolve global vaccine inequality and accelerate economic recovery.

However, Tai said that negotiations over the vaccine patent waiver will take time.

The U.S. position was announced ahead of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council meeting held that day, where the suspension of vaccine patents was to be discussed. India and South Africa have previously demanded a suspension of vaccine patents at the WTO level.