The US will share technology used for the production of Covid-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization (WHO) and is working to expand testing and treatments for difficult-to-reach populations, President Joe Biden has said.
Covid vaccines. Credit: oasisamuel / Shutterstock
Credit: oasisamuel / Shutterstock
The President was speaking at the second Global Covid-19 summit, where he called on Congress to make additional funds available so the US can contribute further to the pandemic response.
"We are making available health technologies that are owned by the United States government, including stabilised spike protein that is used in many COVID-19 vaccines," said Biden during his opening speech.
The White House said that more than $2 billion for immediate response and $962 million in commitments to the World Bank pandemic preparedness fund had been raised in new funding. This included an additional $200 million from the US, bringing its total contribution to $450 million.
However, notable by its absence during the President's speech was any mention of the support for "waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines", a pledge that his administration gave just over a year ago at the World Trade Organization (WTO). A waiver of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right (TRIPS), would expand global access to cheaper, generic copies of the vaccines.
Read more: US calls for waiver of intellectual property rights for vaccines
The summit was jointly hosted by the US, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal, and one of the key goals was to "accelerate collective efforts to get shots into arms". However, Biden did not mention the WTO waiver, nor did Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
However, the President conceded that there was still much work to be done. "This pandemic isn't over," said Biden. "Today, we mark a tragic milestone here in the United States, 1 million COVID deaths, 1 million empty chairs around a family dinner table. Each irreplaceable."
At the first Global Covid-19 Summit in September 2021, the US administration spoke of the need for a TRIPS waiver for vaccines but remained silent on the issue this time around, an omission which has led to criticism from some activists.
Robbie Silverman, Oxfam America’s Senior Manager of Private Sector Advocacy, welcomed the news that the US would share its technology, describing it as a "welcome and bold example for the sharing of essential technologies we all need."
"Now we need to see this kind of leadership from the US at the WTO," he said.
"Even with this little bit of progress, we still urgently need a WTO TRIPS waiver that waives intellectual property for vaccines, tests, and treatments to ensure that all countries have the technology and resources to vaccinate, test and treat people regardless of where they live," added Silverman.
A TRIPS waiver was first proposed fairly early in the pandemic, in October 2020, by India and South Africa. A waiver would suspend key intellectual property rights related to Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines, and would enable the Global South to accelerate vaccine manufacture and speed up the rollout.
The proposal has been met with resistance from Brussels, with the issue becoming a bone of contention at the European Union - African Union summit in February.
Read more: EU accused of putting profit before people in Covid vaccine row
Africa in particular lags far behind the rest of the world in terms of vaccination rates with 21.5% of the continent having received just one dose. This compares with 73.5% of the EU population having received both doses.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai is currently in the process of consulting with organisations about the text of an intellectual property deal, which could go some way to explaining the silence on the subject among top officials.
Nonetheless, the leaders of India and South Africa reiterated their calls at the summit.
"WTO rules, particularly TRIPS, need to be more flexible," said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We continue to advocate for a TRIPS waiver in the WTO to improve global access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics so that the objective of having locally made vaccines is achieved,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Despite the silence on the TRIPS waiver issue, the summit is still being hailed by many as a step in the right direction, albeit a small one.
Read more: BioNTech has created a mobile vaccine factory for rollout in Africa
On the same day as the summit, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) announced what some are calling a compromise over the issue.
Several generic drug makers are to produce a version of Pfizer's Covid-19 antiretroviral treatment Paxlovid, and sell it in low- and middle-income countries for $25 or less per course. For comparison, the five-day course is sold in the US for $530.
The names of the drug manufacturers were not revealed because they are still in the early stages of development and have yet to receive regulatory approval, CHAI said.
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