The U.S. announced its support for patent waivers, but it will be a long, drawn-out process that will make little difference to the catastrophe in India and other poor countries. The U.S. failed to promise to export critical material needed for producing the virus in developing countries. Vijay Prashad and Ricardo Petrella on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.

Transcript

Paul Jay

Hi, I'm Paul Jay. Welcome to theAnalysis.news. This segment is produced in collaboration with Inter Press Service, which provides news and views from the global South. And please don't forget the donate button at the top of the web, page or subscribe button on YouTube, and share this wherever you can be. Be back in a second.

Paul Jay

The COVID crisis in India has reached catastrophic proportions. Reuters reports that, "A top scientific adviser to the Indian government warned on Wednesday the country would inevitably face further waves of the coronavirus pandemic as almost 4,000 people died in the space of a day."

Paul Jay

Most experts think these numbers are severely underestimated. With hospitals scrabbling for beds and oxygen in response to a deadly second surge in infections, the World Health Organization said in a weekly report that India accounted for nearly half the coronavirus cases reported worldwide last week and a quarter of the deaths.

Paul Jay

Many people have died in ambulances and car parks waiting for a bed or oxygen, while morgues and crematoriums struggle to deal with a seemingly unstoppable flow of bodies. In spite of months of calls for the relaxation of intellectual property rules on pharmaceutical products to expand the global vaccine supply, the World Trade Organization has yet to do so.

Paul Jay

CNN reports that, "Divisions within the Biden administration persist over whether to ease some patent restrictions on vaccines, according to people familiar with the matter as the president nears a decision on loosening some intellectual property rules on pharmaceutical products, a move that could expand global vaccine supply."

Paul Jay

Officials said an announcement on the administration's position could come over the next 48 hours as the World Trade Organization begins a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the matter. President Joe Biden has faced similar scrutiny over how and when he will distribute surplus vaccine doses abroad, with some advocates accusing him of not doing enough to help struggling countries like India vaccinate their populations.

Paul Jay

The patent debate has pitted some of the administration's health and development experts against those inside the White House who are wary of angering major drug manufacturers like Pfizer and Moderna, whose products have allowed the country to begin returning to normal.

Paul Jay

According to people familiar with the dynamics, others inside the administration are concerned that the optics of Biden reversing a pledge he made as a candidate to "absolutely, positively" commit to sharing vaccine technology if elected president.

Paul Jay

Well, now, just before recording this interview, there was an announcement from the Biden administration on Wednesday. The Biden administration said, "The US will support a proposal to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, joining an effort to increase global supply and access to lifesaving shots as the gap between rich and poor nations widened."

Paul Jay