Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

THIS ISN’T A PAYWALL

Common Dreams will never be locked behind a paywall because we believe our journalism should remain freely available to everyone ― not just those who can afford to pay. By becoming a sustaining monthly donor today, you can help make sure our work remains free for those who aren't able to chip in.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

A researcher holds a syringe over test vials.

A researcher holds a vaccine syringe above test vials. (Photo: Stockphotokun/Flickr/cc)

Applause as Australia Backs Covid Vaccine Patent Waiver

"Australia's support for a waiver puts the WTO in a strong position to make progress at next week's TRIPS council meeting," said Global Justice Now.

Julia Conley

Vaccine equity advocates on Wednesday cheered as the Australian government bowed to a months-long pressure campaign demanding a suspension of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, after the country's top trade official said he officially supports the push for a "people's vaccine."
 
Trade Minister Dan Tehan told a group of advocates in a private meeting on Tuesday that the Australian government would support a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver proposal, and later confirmed the news to the press.

"The British and German governments have no allies or excuses left. They must stop obstructing efforts to waive patents so that we can finally vaccinate the world."
—Nick Dearden, Global Justice Now 

 
"Well, we have always said we will support a TRIPS waiver when it came to Covid-19," Tehan said, according to ABC News in Australia. "We continue to work constructively in Geneva to do everything we can to expand the production of vaccines globally because we need everyone across the globe to get access to a vaccine ultimately if we are to be safe."
 
Officials in Australia have spent months avoiding expressing clear support for a TRIPS waiver, which would allow countries in the Global South to develop generic versions of the vaccines produced by companies including Pfizer and Moderna. 
 
In June, Tehan told reporters that Australia was "not opposed" to a waiver and was "prepared to look at a vaccine waiver," which was first proposed in October 2020 by officials in South Africa and India. 
 
The clear support expressed this week, days before a meeting of the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Council, is evidence that "the tide is turning in the battle against global vaccine inequality," said British advocacy group Global Justice Now.
 

"Australia's support for a waiver puts the WTO in a strong position to make progress at next week's TRIPS council meeting," said Nick Dearden, director of the organization. 

Advocates in Australia urged Tehan to follow his remarks with decisive action at next week's meeting. 

"We urge the government to act by expressing unequivocal public support in meeting with the Indian government and at the WTO TRIPS council meeting on September 14," Patricia Ranald, convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, told ABC News.
 

U.S. President Joe Biden announced in May that he would support waiving intellectual property rights for the vaccines to ensure people in developing countries can be inoculated—protecting those populations and the entire world, as low levels of vaccination in the Global South have allowed numerous variants of Covid-19 to spread. 

More than 100 other nations including France have also backed a TRIPS waiver, leaving Germany and the United Kingdom as the most powerful nations standing in the way of global vaccine equity and a speedier end to the pandemic. 

"The British and German governments have no allies or excuses left," said Dearden. "They must stop obstructing efforts to waive patents so that we can finally vaccinate the world."

Australia has fully vaccinated over 40% of its population, according to an analysis by Reuters. More than 80% of vaccine doses have been administered in wealthy countries, while 0.4% have been given in low-income countries. 

Sophie McNeill, Australia researcher for Human Rights Watch, credited advocates with pressuring the country into supporting the TRIPS waiver. 

"Now we need firm action from Australia at the WTO," said McNeill.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments

We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Related

Latest News

See all
Tate Reeves

Despite Housing Crisis, Mississippi May Return Up to Millions in Federal Rent Aid to DC

"For them to suggest people like me aren't working? It's a slap in the face," said one woman affected by the end of the pandemic assistance program. "It's very insulting and degrading."

Brett Wilkins ·

Activists participate in a rally urging the expansion of Social Security benefits in front of the White House July 13, 2015

80% of US Voters Across Party Lines Support Expanding Social Security

"With Republicans threatening to cut benefits—and worse, eliminate the program entirely—Dems need to make clear they're fighting to protect and expand benefits."

Jessica Corbett ·

Moderna Covid-19 vaccine

Rich Nations Again Accused of Vaccine Hoarding as UK OKs Moderna Omicron Booster

"While countries like the U.K. buy updated vaccines for their fourth doses, people in low- and middle-income countries are fighting today's variants with yesterday's vaccines."

Brett Wilkins ·

Demonstrators protest Starbucks union-busting

With Trumpian Claims of Cheating, Starbucks Demands Halt to Union Elections

"Unfortunately, it's now in vogue for the losers of some elections nationwide to attempt to reverse elections by any means they think are necessary," said Starbucks Workers United.

Jake Johnson ·

Children look for scrap metal in Afghanistan

Richest Country on Earth to One of Its Poorest: We're Keeping the Money We Stole From You

A foreign affairs columnist called the move by the Biden administration a "shortsighted, morally unconscionable, and potentially calamitous decision for a country on the cusp of universal poverty."

Julia Conley ·

Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.