Covid-19 vaccine inequity and the proposed TRIPS waiver
Channel: David Legge
Date: 18/05/2021

As the Covid-19 pandemic has unfolded the differences in access to vaccines between low and middle income countries and rich countries has widened. 30% of the population of the high income countries have now (18 May 2021) received at least one dose compared to less than 2% for the low income countries.
The causes of this widening inequity are several including the refusal of Pharma to participate in the C-TAP initiative, the underfunding of the Covax facility, and the massive advance purchase bilateral deals between pharma and the rich countries. Vaccine production capacity has been deliberately restricted by pharma using the intellectual property protections of the TRIPS agreement. 
Many in the developing countries have seen this coming.
In October 2020 South Africa and India circulated a proposal within the World Trade Organisation for a waiver of the intellectual property protections provided under TRIPS for Covid technologies for the duration of the pandemic and for countries choosing to avail themselves of this option. 
Until early May 2021 the rich countries stood firmly with pharma in opposing this initiative until President Joe Biden announced that the US would be supporting a waiver limited to vaccines in the ongoing negotiations. 
This lecture was prepared for an Australian audience but may be useful beyond Australia. 
For more on the proposed waiver see https://theconversation.com/us-support-for-waiving-covid-vaccine-intellectual-property-is-a-huge-step-australia-must-follow-160443