Pope Francis backs waivers on intellectual property rights for vaccines | Inquirer News

Pope Francis backs waivers on intellectual property rights for vaccines

/ 09:16 PM May 08, 2021

Pope Francis holds weekly general audience at the Vatican

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis holds a weekly general audience in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, April 28, 2021. Vatican Media/?Handout via REUTERS

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis on Saturday supported waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, backing a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden that has been rebuffed by some European nations, including Germany.

In a speech to a global fundraising concert to promote fair access to vaccines, the pope said the world was infected with the “virus of individualism”.

Article continues after this advertisement

“A variant of this virus is closed nationalism, which prevents, for example, an internationalism of vaccines,” he said in the pre-recorded video message.

FEATURED STORIES

“Another variant is when we put the laws of the market or of intellectual market or intellectual property over the laws of love and the health of humanity,” he added, recalling the heavy death toll the coronavirus had inflicted on the world.

His comments came in the middle of a debate over whether pharmaceutical companies should waive patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines.

Article continues after this advertisement

Biden backed such a move on Wednesday, heeding calls from India, South Africa and more than 100 other countries.

However, many European countries, led by Germany and France, distanced themselves on Friday from the suggestion, arguing that key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic was making and sharing vaccines more quickly.

RELATED STORIES

US backs plan to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents

Global pharma shares slide as Biden backs COVID-19 vaccine IP waiver

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.

TAGS: COVID-19, Pope Francis

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.