What's hindering Covid-19 vaccine IP waiver?

On November 26, US president Joe Biden called on countries attending an upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting to set aside the intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines. The November 30 meeting, which in itself was being seen as the test of WTO’s relevance, was postponed due to the threat posed by the new Covid-19 variant.

So now, a call on the intellectual property or IP waiver of Covid-19 vaccines will be taken by February end when all the 164 nations converge in Geneva. While most of them want the waiver of IP rights, some don’t.

Public health experts have been saying that such a waiver would help developing and low income countries get more supplies of vaccine in this time of crisis. Let us take a look at the proposal for IP waiver that is being considered by the world.
 
So far, nearly 8.5 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered globally. But the vaccine distribution has been uneven to say the least. Just like other resources, poor nations have got a far lesser number of vaccines when compared to the rich countries.

The figures say it all. According to Our World in Data, 56% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. However, just 7.1% of people in low income nations have received at least one jab.

Low vaccination rates are seen as a big risk in the appearance of new variants. Many countries hope that a waiver on the intellectual property or IP of Covid-19 vaccine will help in mass vaccination.

The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, TRIPS in short, is the international agreement between the World Trade Organization members that deals with intellectual property rights. The multilateral agreement has been in place since 1995.
 
In October 2020, India and South Africa proposed a temporary waiver on IP rights for Covid-19 vaccines and other Covid-related technologies at the World Trade Organisation until global herd immunity is achieved.
 
This proposal has come to be known as the TRIPS waiver.
The waiver would enable the manufacturing of generic versions of Covid-19 vaccines. It temporarily “removes” the protections provided by the WTO. About 100 of the WTO’s 164 countries have supported India’s proposal, including the United States, which voiced its position in May this year. 

Several wealthy countries, including the UK, Germany and Switzerland as well as major vaccine-making pharmaceutical companies are against the initiative.
 
A decision on the waiver can be reached based on consensus of all 164 WTO members. If an agreement cannot be reached, the decision can be made by voting. A three-fourths majority is needed in order for the waiver to be adopted.
 
Millions of people in the poorer countries are yet to be vaccinated. While the rich nations are looking to give booster shots to its population. Both need vaccines and sharing the technology will only help in completely wiping the virus. While calling for IP waiver, the US has rightly said that “extraordinary circumstances need extraordinary measures.

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