EU presents WTO plan to boost COVID vaccine output

Under pressure, the EU says it has an alternative to boost production more effectively than the proposed waiver of patent rights, now backed by the US.

The European Union has put forward a plan it believes will help boost the production and availability of COVID-19 vaccines more effectively than a proposed waiver of patent rights now backed by the United States. Under pressure from developing countries demanding a waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights for vaccines and treatments, the EU presented on Wednesday an alternative focused on export restrictions, pledges from vaccine developers and the flexibility of existing World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. WTO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday the world has reached a situation of “vaccine apartheid”, with poorer countries that make up half the population receiving just 17 percent of vaccines.