While momentum builds behind a proposal to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines, removing intellectual property protection would not accelerate the global immunization effort. The sooner the world recognizes that production capacity is not the problem, the better.
NEW HAVEN – The surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths in India shows that the pandemic is far from over. While most developing countries in Asia and Africa managed to keep their death tolls low over the past year, it is only a matter of time before the new, more contagious variants that have emerged in India and elsewhere spread to countries that seemed to have their infections under control. Absent a miracle – such as a mutation that renders the virus less lethal – only universal vaccination can end this cycle of misery.
NEW HAVEN – The surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths in India shows that the pandemic is far from over. While most developing countries in Asia and Africa managed to keep their death tolls low over the past year, it is only a matter of time before the new, more contagious variants that have emerged in India and elsewhere spread to countries that seemed to have their infections under control. Absent a miracle – such as a mutation that renders the virus less lethal – only universal vaccination can end this cycle of misery.