Paula Lugones
05/05/2021 4:47 PM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 05/05/2021 17:56
Joe Biden's government gave in to growing international pressure on Wednesday and
announced that it will support the lifting of intellectual property rights to
Covid 19 vaccines, a decision that, while "will take time," could provide a strong boost. to the manufacture of vaccines in other countries.
The United States was one of the countries that opposed the suspension of intellectual property in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to encourage production, at a time when there are serious spikes of infections in India and South America.
So President Biden was under heavy pressure to support the proposal, including within his own Democratic party.
The initiative was promoted in the WTO mainly by India and South Africa, but Argentina was one of the countries that had supported this measure because it opens the door to the production of vaccines at the local level.
Our country had also promoted this idea at the G20.
These extraordinary times and circumstances of call for extraordinary measures.
The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we'll actively participate in @WTO negotiations to make that happen.
pic.twitter.com/96ERlboZS8
- Ambassador Katherine Tai (@AmbassadorTai) May 5, 2021
Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative, announced this turn in a statement:
"This is a global health crisis,
and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic demand extraordinary measures," she said.
Vaccines against the coronavirus, a scarce good and whose production faces great difficulties.
Reuters photo
"The administration aims to get as many safe and effective vaccines for as many people as possible as quickly as possible," he added.
The official said that the US is going to participate in the discussions at the WTO on patents and that "it
will take time
, given that a consensus must be reached and that the issue is complex."
Ngozi Okonjo Iewala, Director General of the WTO, urged members to proceed quickly with negotiations.
"Members must share their vaccines,
those who have asked for more than they really need
should share with others, either through the Covax facility or other mechanisms," Okonjo said.
Tai also announced that the Biden government will work to increase the supply of inputs for the production of vaccines.
The Biden government debated internally whether or not to give in to this international claim and supported a proposal to open the formula of its vaccines to allow them
to be manufactured in the rest of the world
, or if it opted to preserve intellectual property and expand production in the States. United to supply other countries, which was another internal school of thought.
The Director General of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, called for a commitment to suspend patents on vaccines against Covid.
Reuters photo
Some White House officials had warned that giving up vaccine protections could unleash new competition for ingredients that could disrupt global production.
Drug companies have also vehemently opposed the release
, warning that it could have a drastic impact on their ability to produce vaccines and could affect American employment.
In fact, once the measure was announced, the shares of companies and laboratories linked to the production of vaccines fell dramatically on Wall Street.
The offensive, carried out by India and South Africa at the WTO, had had the support of activists, human rights organizations, and figures like Pope Francis.
More than 170 former presidents
, such as Gordon Brown, from the United Kingdom, Juan Manuel Santos, from Colombia, or François Hollande, from France, and Nobel laureates, such as Joseph Stiglitz, signed and sent a letter to the White House asking for the suspension.
But it faced resistance from many countries with influential pharmaceutical and biotech industries, such as the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
The decision was welcomed within the ranks of Biden's party. “With this move, we are able to share vaccine prescriptions, developed largely with taxpayer dollars, while securing reasonable royalties to US manufacturers.
The best way to end the deadly global vaccine shortage is to allow more manufacturers to make vaccines, "
said Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Health.
"I think the president cares deeply about keeping promises,"
said Faiz Shakir, a former adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, who lobbied senior administration officials for the uprising.
“For those of us who are activists, it is important that we remember that we demand that they do what they have already promised.
And, in their favor, they did. "
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