Opinion: Waiving intellectual property rights would compromise global vaccination efforts
The resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the United States and around the world, in large part due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, makes it even more crucial to step up the pace of the global vaccination campaign.
To do that, some countries have sought to suspend intellectual property (IP) protections on Covid-19 vaccines and therapies. India and South Africa sponsored a proposal to that effect at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The proposal has since been endorsed by other countries, including the United States. They argue that eliminating IP protections would allow any willing company to produce lifesaving Covid-19 vaccines, making them cheaper and more widely accessible in low-income nations.
