COVID-19 Vaccine IP Waiver Will Benefit Foreign Rivals Like China, Critics Warn

The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The debate is growing over whether developed countries including the United States should temporarily waive intellectual property (IP) and patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines to expedite global vaccination efforts.

The Biden administration on May 5 announced that it would support the waiver of those protections for vaccines “to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution” around the world to end the pandemic.

Experts, however, believe waiving patents wouldn’t resolve the vaccine shortage problem, due to the complexity of producing the mRNA-based vaccines. They also argue that the move would allow countries such as China to exploit American innovation and technology to their advantage.

“There is absolutely no need or compelling rationale” for the IP waiver, according to Stephen Ezell, vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank.

Once a country forces the disclosure of know-how, there would be no control over who has access to it, he told The Epoch Times.

This will not only affect the COVID-19 vaccines, but also non-COVID-related drugs and therapies using mRNA technology.

“What’s absurd is their assertion that such a waiver wouldn’t lead to China getting their hands on technologies innovative companies have invested billions to develop; and instead of China getting through stealing it, our own government would be complicit in compelling its handover,” Ezell said.

Traditional vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into people’s bodies to trigger an immune response. Vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, however, use messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) that teaches cells how to make a protein to trigger an immune response when someone gets infected.

The mRNA vaccine technology established a new platform for vaccine and gene-therapy industries, and while some Chinese firms have also started to develop their vaccines using this new technology, Western companies are still leaders in this space. China also doesn’t have any prior experience in industrial-scale production of mRNA vaccine, according to Sean Lin, a microbiologist and a former lab director of the viral disease branch of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

BY EMEL AKAN

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Columns

I Refuse To Be A Serf

“How are people not furious about property taxes?” President Trump...

Putting it to rest

As the nation hits its taxation stride on its way to April 15th and DOGE continues to reveal waste and fraud, a review of the nation’s finances is overdue.

Lefty Activist Judges are Obstructing Trump’s Presidency

Activist judge’s ruling to block President Donald Trump from being able to execute his Constitutional Article 2 Powers pose a real “Constitutional crisis”.

France’s Next Quarterly Nuclear Drills Might Become Prestige-Building Exercises With Poland

Europe wonders what form Macron’s plans to extend his nuclear umbrella over the continent could take, considering risks entailed after Moscow’s negative reaction.

RFK Jr. Nukes HHS ‘Research’ Grants Designed to Stamp Out ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’

RFK Jr. must be waiting to get data firmly on his side before yanking COVID shots off the market and delivering pharmaceutical criminals to the DOJ.

News

US to Pay El Salvador $6 Million to Imprison 300 Illegal Immigrant Gang Members for a Year

Trump admin is set to pay El Salvador $6 million to hold 300 members of Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang and 2 alleged members of MS-13 in prison for a year.

DOJ Investigates Columbia University for Potential Terrorism Offenses

A separate Homeland Security probe is looking into whether...

Voice of America Cuts Contracts With AP, Reuters, and AFP

Voice of America, under leadership appointed by Trump, is terminating contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.

Retirees Must Make Obligated Withdrawals From IRAs, 401(k) Accounts by April 1: IRS

IRS issued alert reminding retirees that some of them are obligated to withdraw money from their retirement accounts by beginning of next month.

Johns Hopkins University Laying Off Over 2,000 Workers After Federal Funding Cut

Johns Hopkins University will lay off over 2,000 workers worldwide following Trump admin’s termination of $800 million in federal funding for institution.

American Airlines Plane Catches Fire at Denver Airport, Forces Evacuation

Passengers were forced to evacuate from an American Airlines plane that caught fire on March 13 at Denver International Airport.

Columbia University Expels Some Students Involved in 2024 Hamilton Hall Takeover

Columbia University said its judicial board levied a range of sanctions against students who occupied the building while protesting the Israel-Hamas war.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central