WTO to Discuss IP rights for Vaccines

In my opinion, one of the unfortunate side effects of the global pandemic is that Big Pharma can now posture as the savior of humanity. Given the past behavior of some major pharmaceutical companies, they have shown themselves to be more concerned with aggressive marketing of their products rather than optimizing the health of humanity.

The World Trade Organization will be discussing the intellectual property rights of vaccine manufacturers. The concern over these intellectual property rights is that they impede the rapid manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, particularly in countries which have the most dire need. They will discuss whether the waiving of these rights will enhance the fight against the current pandemic.

A pdf of the proposed agenda for today (May 5th, 2021) is attached.