US backs freeing up vaccines

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Wednesday restated the Joe Biden administration's position on Wednesday during talks at the World Trade Organization on support for the temporary waiver of protections that would allow more manufacturers to produce COVID-19 vaccines, but opponents call the move no panacea to the pandemic.

US President Joe Biden earlier on Wednesday said that he supported the waiver, which has been pursued by more than 100 countries.

The WTO's General Council took up the issue of a temporary waiver in October. The idea has gained support among some progressive lawmakers in the West. A group of 110 Democratic members of Congress sent Biden a letter last month calling on him to support the waiver.

Tai cautioned that it would take time to reach the required global "consensus" to put aside the protections under WTO rules, and US officials said it would not have an immediate effect on the global supply of vaccines.

On Thursday, the European Union signaled it may consider supporting a temporary waiver of patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines in order to boost global supplies.

Kenya welcomed the US position toward waiving COVID-19 vaccine patent rights in a bid to increase global supplies of desperately needed doses.

The US has been long criticized for hoarding vaccine supplies, a practice that has deepened the gaps richer and poorer nations on vaccine distribution.

Opponents of IP waivers－especially from the drugmaking industry－say such a move would be no panacea.

"The Biden administration has taken an unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety," said Stephen Ubl, president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

"This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines."

Republicans in the US House of Representative, led by Darrell Issa of California and Jim Jordan of Ohio, wrote to Tai arguing that a waiver would do little to improve public health.

"The waiver would undermine the very innovation that has led to the record-breaking rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines already saving lives around the world, and it would not meaningfully improve vaccine availability," they said.

The pair said logistical and regulatory challenges provide a greater barrier to more equal distribution, and even with the recipe, the vaccine is difficult to produce.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.