Prognosis
Countries Need Covid Vaccines Now, and Patent Waivers Won’t Deliver Them
- Wealthy nations urged to share doses, fund Covax effort
- Challenge to IP raises concerns of discouraging innovation
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The U.S.-backed effort to waive patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, even if successful, is unlikely to narrow a yawning gap in access to life-saving shots anytime soon.
The proposal faces weeks of difficult negotiations and intense pushback from the pharmaceutical industry. And if it were approved at the World Trade Organization, it could take a year or more to meaningfully increase supplies, vaccine specialists said.