World mulls next step as US backs IP waiver on vaccines

Activists cheered, Big Pharma complained and government leaders assessed next steps after the Biden administration’s blockbuster move to support an easing of patent and other protections on COVID-19 vaccines

GENEVA -- Activists cheered, Big Pharma complained and government leaders assessed next steps on Thursday after the Biden administration’s blockbuster move to support an easing of patent and other protections on COVID-19 vaccines that many hope will help poorer countries get more doses and speed the end of the pandemic. The move to support waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines under World Trade Organization rules marked a dramatic shift for the United States, which had previously lined up with many other developed nations opposed to the idea floated by India and South Africa. Attention is set to turn to those richer nations, notably in the European Union, to see whether they will come on board. A key hurdle: Any decision at the WTO, a Geneva-based trade body, has to be by consensus — meaning that any single country could hold up any waiver. The EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 27-nation bloc was ready to talk about the U.S. proposal — but cagily remained noncommittal for now.