India urges WTO to relax intellectual property rules for COVID-19, South Africa supports

India and South Africa have urged World Trade Organisation to waive some provisions regarding intellectual property rights so that COVID-19 vaccine development could be fast-tracked. According to reports, relaxing  provisions pertaining to intellectual property rights could t only speed up vaccine development process but would also allow poorer and developing countries to gain access to it.

Read: UK Expecting COVID Vaccine In 3 Months, Every Adult Could Be Iculated By Easter: Report

Joint submission urges WTO to waive IP rules

As per reports, joint submission to Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights argues that if existing safeguard is t removed n certain countries, particularly developing ones which have borne brunt of pandemic, will find it hard to gain access to COVID-19 pandemic and or relevant medicines.

Many Western and European countries such as US, Canada, Germany and UK have already mand to secure millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine without even kwing if y will work. Critics argue that when a vaccine is finally developed and approved, rich countries may hoard vaccine in order to iculate ir populations first. Poor and developing countries are t in a position to spend billions on potential vaccines, especially since ir ecomies have been ravd by COVID-19 pandemic.

Read: US Panel Tackles Race, Poverty In Virus Vaccine Priorities

As per reports, Leena Menghaney, who heads access campaign in South Asia for international aid group Doctors Without Borders has stated that it is crucial that or member governments of WTO support this. She added that it was importnat to ensure that vaccines, drugs and or medical tools needed for COVID-19 can be scaled up by countries and ir manufacturers without facing protracted negotiations for licenses.

India and South Africa's joint submission reportedly seeks waivers in rules that relate to multiple areas such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets. COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has w spread all across world. virus, named COVID-19 by World Health Organisation, has infected over 34 million people worldwide with global death toll crossing 1,000,000. US has reported more than 7.3 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 200,000.

(With AP inputs)

Read: WHO Africa To Review COVID-19 Herbal Remedies For Phase 3 Clinical Trials

Read: COVID-19 Vaccine: 100 Million Additional Vaccines Doses Secured For Poorer Countries