Pope Francis on Saturday came out in favor of a waiver on intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, echoing comments made by the U.S. administration earlier this week. Speaking at a global fundraising event on Saturday, Pope Francis said the world was infected with the “virus of individualism.”

World Trade Organization leaders have recently urged member nations to come to an agreement on the potential vaccine patent waivers, hoping to remove obstacles to the ramping up of vaccine production in developing countries.

This comes after the US extended its support for waiving intellectual property protections on vaccines to help end the pandemic. Other countries and blocs including European Union too have shown willingness to discuss the temporary waiver of patents. 

India and South Africa had proposed a TRIPS waiver at the WTO last year, recently US President Joe Biden-led administration had lent support to the waiver. The EU however has not taken a position and does not see it as a "magic solution".

The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is a comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. Global advocacy groups argue that waiving patents for vaccines could help expand narrow the vaccination gap between rich and poor nations.

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