United Stated has come out in support of waiving the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on Covid-19 vaccines.The decision may lead to the speeding of inoculation drives worldwide.
The US government's position was announced by the country's trade representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday amid World Trade Organisation talks over easing global trade rules to enable more countries to produce more of the life-saving vaccines.“The administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines," Tai said in the statement.But she cautioned that it would take time to reach the required global “consensus" to waive.