Today the Biden administration said it supports an initiative to waive the intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.A statement from United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, "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."The statement was made during talks at the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) general council meeting.
The proposal was first floated last fall, but many wealthy countries opposed it. The WTO will require unanimous agreement on the temporary waiver of property rights, and is expected to formally vote on the issue in June.