The Joe Biden administration announced Wednesday that it supports waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses.

The WHO has lauded the commitment by the US to temporarily lift intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, an advance that may help produce more vaccines globally.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the decision on Wednesday saying that President Joe Biden's "administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines".

“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai wrote in a statement.

"This is a monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19. The commitment by the President of the United States Joe Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of American leadership to address global health challenges," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement, on Wednesday.

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