Covid-19 crisis: WTO panel considers easing protections on vaccines

On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel is a revised proposal by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on Covid vaccines

Envoys from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) member nations are taking up a proposal to ease patents and other intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines to help developing countries fight the pandemic, an idea backed by the Biden administration but opposed in other wealthy countries with strong pharmaceutical industries.

On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel opening Tuesday is a revised proposal presented by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on coronavirus vaccines. The idea has drawn support from more than 60 countries, which now include the United States and China.

Some European Union member