-The Hindu 12 Republican lawmakers write a seven-page letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the issue U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he had not made a decision on whether the U.S. would support an Indian and South African initiative at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to facilitate the production of COVID-19 related vaccines and therapeutics around the world. “Well, we’re...

-The Hindu Over the last few decades, intellectual property rules have served as a lethal barrier to the right to access healthcare Even an unprecedented pandemic can do little, it appears, to upset the existing global regime governing monopoly rights over the production and distribution of life-saving drugs. If anything, since the onset of COVID-19, we’ve only seen a reaffirmation of intellectual property rules that have served as a lethal barrier to...

-Hindustan Times The announcement by Joe Biden comes close on the heels of the United States agreeing to provide India with raw materials needed for producing the Covishield vaccine and supply equipment such as ventilators and oxygen generation gear to support the country’s response to a massive surge in Covid-19 cases. US President Joe Biden on Monday took to Twitter to say that his administration is determined for India to tide over...

-Scroll.in Besides, by making states responsible for buying vaccines, Modi’s government has deftly deflected possible criticism for future shortages. Over the past few weeks, the second wave of Covid-19 infections and the acute shortage of vaccines had led to considerable public anger against the government. Despite being fully aware of a potential vaccine shortage, the Union government had held back permissions for new vaccines, such as the Sputnik V, to be used in...

-The Telegraph The Centre had last November announced a Rs 900-crore project but none of this money went to either Covishield or Covaxin India’s shortage of Covid-19 vaccines that precludes immediate inoculation for all adults is rooted in the Narendra Modi government’s lack of funding for key vaccines under development and evaluation, experts have said. The experts, who have tracked global vaccine efforts, said the Indian government’s lack of investments contrasted with the...