Biden backs COVID-19 vaccine patent waivers

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The Biden administration will support a proposal to waive international patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a top administration official.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement Wednesday that the “extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.”

The U.S. will begin participating in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations over the exact language of the waiver, which supporters say would make the details of vaccine production widely available and allow lower-income countries to make doses themselves. Continue reading.