The Biden administration, in a major decision on May 5, said it would support easing patent rules on Covid-19 vaccines. This comes after intense internal debate & strong pushback from American drugmakers, potentially expanding the global supply & narrowing the vaccination gap between rich & poor nations. The move is preliminary & will not guarantee the global patent rules are lifted right away. But the Biden administration's signal of support amounts to a major step that aid groups & Democrats had been pressing for. And while the US had been a hold out, other countries, including the European Union & Switzerland, have also resisted the step. The patent debate had pitted some of the administration's health & development experts against those inside the White House who were wary of angering major drug manufacturers like Pfizer & Moderna, reported CNN. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue in a phone call with Biden last week. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), called the US decision "historic" and said it marked "a monumental moment in the fight against COVID19.”
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