President Joe Biden Supports Waiver Of COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Rights, WHO: A Monumental Moment

Kepala WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons / ITU Pictures)

JAKARTA - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised United States President Joe Biden's steps in supporting the temporary abandonment of the COVID-19 vaccine patent.

In his post on Twitter, Tedros cited the United States' move under President Biden as a strong example of overcoming global health challenges. A mirror of the wisdom and moral leadership of the United States.

"This is a monumental moment in the fight against #COVID19. The commitment by @POTUS Joe Biden & @USTradeRep @AmbassadorTai to support the abandonment of IP protection in vaccines is a strong example of the United States Flag's leadership to address global health challenges", he wrote, Thursday, May 6.

Furthermore, Tedros wrote, He praised the United States' historic decision in terms of equal rights to get vaccines, prioritizing the welfare of all people wherever it is critical.

"Now let us all move quickly together, in solidarity, building the ingenuity & commitment of the scientists who produced the life-saving #COVID19 vaccine", he wrote again.

Earlier, United States President Joe Biden expressed his support behind the waiver of intellectual property rights or patents for the COVID-19 vaccine. The move, which is backed by more than 100 countries, but angers pharmaceutical companies.

President Joe Biden's stance in favor of this temporary waiver was quickly followed by Head of Trade Negotiations Katherine Tai, who described the current situation as extraordinary.

"This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic require extraordinary action", Tai said in a statement.

Tai said the United States would participate in text-based negotiations at the WTO to ensure abandonment could occur but warned that those negotiations would take time.

The United States and several other countries have previously blocked negotiations at the WTO on a waiver proposal led by India and South Africa, which aims to help developing countries produce COVID-19 vaccines using pharmaceutical companies' IPs.

"The administration believes strongly in the protection of intellectual property, but is in service to end this pandemic, supporting the abandonment of such protections for the COVID-19 vaccine", he stressed.