Human Rights Watch has called on governments around the world to support South Africa’s and India’s proposal to waive aspects of global intellectual property laws to ensure affordable and accessible COVID-19 vaccines, once safe and effective products have been developed, says a Business Day report.
The two countries have asked the World Trade Organisation to let nations choose not to grant or enforce patents and other intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines for the duration of the pandemic. Vaccine research has moved at an unprecedented pace since the genetic sequence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus was published in January, and 44 candidate products are being tested on human volunteers.
Another 154 potential vaccines are in preclinical evaluation.
The race to develop a vaccine has been accompanied by an international scramble for advance access in which rich nations elbow out emerging economies. South Africa has not placed any advance orders for experimental vaccines and is pinning its hopes on the Covax facility, a global scheme for the future distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Covax is co-ordinated by the WHO, the global vaccine alliance GAVI, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, and aims to have 2bn doses ready for distribution by the end of 2021.
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