Coronavirus

Democrats Call On Government To Ease COVID Vaccine Patent Restrictions

Democrats argue this would make it easier for other countries to produce their own generic vaccines.

Democrats Call On Government To Ease COVID Vaccine Patent Restrictions
Wilfredo Lee / AP
Article by Robin Dich
SMS
May 3, 2021

A group of Democrats has asked the Biden administration to ease up on COVID-19 patent restrictions.

They said they want to prioritize people over pharmaceutical companies. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the U.S. is working on it.

"We believe that the pharmaceutical companies should be supplying at scale and at cost to the entire world, so that there is no barrier to everyone getting vaccinated," Sullivan said. "Our ambassador, Katherine Tai, our U.S. trade representative, is engaged in intensive consultations at the WTO to work through this issue, and we should have a way forward in the coming days."

Democrats argue by relaxing the rules, countries could produce their own generic vaccines quicker.