Should pharmaceutical companies be compelled to waive their coronavirus vaccine patents?

The momentum behind the campaign to remove intellectual property restrictions on Covid vaccines is growing. But would such a move really help defeat the pandemic more quickly? Ben Chu investigates

Would waiving intellectual property rights help vaccinate the world faster? (Reuters)

The campaign to compel pharmaceutical companies to temporarily lift their coronavirus vaccine patents is gathering pace – and apparently making some progress.

The countries in the World Health Organisation have, according to the BBC’s Newsnight, for the first time agreed such a waiver could be an important part of the global vaccination effort.

And the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, suggested last week that the Biden administration is now considering the case.