Washington: US President Joe Biden’s Government announced support for a global waiver on patent protections for Covid – 19 vaccines on Wednesday. The US Government offering hope to poor nations that have struggled to access the life-saving Covid – 19 vaccines.

India has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization to allow more drug makers to manufacture the vaccines, but pharma giants oppose it. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that while intellectual property rights for businesses are important, Joe Biden’s Government supports the waiver of those protections for Covid – 19 vaccines in order to end the pandemic.

She said in a statement on Wednesday that this is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. Biden had been under intense pressure to waive protections for vaccine manufacturers, especially amid criticism that rich nations were hoarding shots.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said US decision is historic and marked a monumental moment in the fight against Covid – 19.  With supplies for Americans secured, the Biden administration will continue efforts to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution, and will work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines.

For months the WTO has been facing calls to temporarily remove the intellectual property protections on Covid – 19 vaccines, known as a TRIPS waiver in reference to the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property.

.                    New Zealand, however has welcomed the US announcement, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the move tremendous news it would help his country manufacture mRNA vaccines locally.