Vaccine nationalism in the age of COVID-19

It is no secret that the world has a COVID-19 vaccine problem. The majority of vaccination doses have been administered in Europe and North America, whilst many poorer counties have vaccinated less than 1% of their entire population.

In light of the new variants presenting health risks, countries such as South Africa and India have proposed that the World Trade Organisation temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to help increase the production of vaccines. The world’s economic powerhouses such as U.S., Britain and the European Union vetoed the idea, submitting that intellectual property rights are important for ensuring continued innovation. They are of the opinion that waiving such rights would not result in increased production.

The question therefore stands if these are only two options: either patents remain unchanged, or patents are disregarded. An alternative, and perhaps a middle ground is that of compulsory licensing.