Covid-19: World Trade Organisation welcomes Covid-19 vaccine waiver talks

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala this week welcomed talks between the organisation and four member countries, which includes South Africa, to waive patent rights for Covid-19 vaccines.  

She says the compromise reached between the European Union, India, South Africa and the United States on vaccine production waivers is ‘a major step forward, but we are not there yet’ because the details of the agreement have not been finalised.  

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“We need the support of all WTO members. Internal domestic consultations by the four members are ongoing and we must broaden the discussion to include all 164 members of the WTO,” says Okonjo-Iweala.  

She says that the trade organisation needs consensus to take decisions and this has not yet been achieved.  

“We will work with the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights chairperson, Ambassador Lansana Gberie, to reach a full agreement,” says Okonjo-Iweala.  

Not all countries and pharmaceutical companies support the need for a waiver, however.

Although those in favour say it will speed up Covid-19 vaccine production in developing countries, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has described the proposed waiver as unnecessary and irrelevant.  

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“Biopharmaceutical companies reaffirm their position that weakening patents now, when it is widely acknowledged that there are no longer supply constraints of Covid-19 vaccines, sends the wrong signal,” IFPMA states. 

The association says that the industry can produce over one billion vaccines each month.  

“The challenge is to get the vaccines into the arms of people who need them, rather than vaccine supply. Weakening intellectual property will not increase vaccine manufacturing. Technology transfer goes beyond the patent, is built on trust, know-how sharing and voluntary licensing. Manufacturers have done this. There are 371 collaborations on vaccine manufacturing. The multiple announcements of partnerships to improve geographical diversity of vaccine production is proof that the proposed waiver is unnecessary,” IFPMA states.  

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Other developments  

Shoprite Group announced on Thursday that Covid-19 relief grants are now available at Shoprite, Checkers, Usave and selected OK Foods supermarket tills.  

In February, the grant was extended for 12 months, until the end of March 2023.  

Unemployed South Africans benefitting from the R350 grant can access their money at any of the group’s 1 286 supermarkets across South Africa.

They must provide their ID and bring along their cellphone (with the same number they used to register on the South African Social Security Agency database). A confirmation one-time pin will be sent to the number to prevent fraud.  

Covid-19 stats  

On March 17, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported 1 682 new Covid-19 cases, which brought the total to 3 700 484.

This represented a 5.8% positivity rate.

The NICD also reported that by yesterday, SA had 15 052 active cases and 41 new hospital admissions.

The majority of new cases were in Gauteng (34%), followed by Western Cape (29%).

The cumulative number of recoveries reported was 3 585 603.

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Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).