With the summer holiday season a key target many have in mind and a potential test of our collective spirit!!

LONDON — The European Union has said it is ready to discuss the waiving of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, after the United States announced it supports the initiative.

The proposed patent-waiver — designed to boost the global production of Covid-19 vaccines — has proved divisive for European lawmakers, with some supporting the move, while others have fiercely opposed it. Supporters of the idea say it is critical to ramp up vaccination rates in low-income nations. Until now, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has expressed doubts about the waiving of the IP rights.

However on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said her team was open “to discuss any proposals that address the crisis in an effective and pragmatic manner.”

“That is why we are ready to discuss how the U.S. proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines could help achieve that objective,” she said during a speech.

 
It comes after the White House announced Wednesday that it was in favour of lifting IP rights, citing the “extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The move caused shares of major pharmaceutical firms that have developed Covid-19 shots to sink.

However, the announcement was praised by the World Health Organization, with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the U.S. decision was a “monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19.”

The GAVI vaccine alliance also welcomed President Joe Biden’s stance, saying it recognizes “the significance of the administration’s commitment to work towards increasing raw material production.”

Landmark proposal
The landmark proposal to waive the IP rights was jointly submitted to the World Trade Organization by India and South Africa in October, however, a handful of countries have blocked the proposal. These include the U.K., Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the EU and — until now — the United States.

 
“In the short run, however, we call upon all vaccine producing countries to allow export and to avoid measures that disrupt the supply chains,” von der Leyen said on Thursday.

The EU has praised itself for being the top exporter of Covid-19 vaccines, while also criticizing countries such as the U.K. for not taking similar action.
“While others keep their vaccine production for themselves, Europe is the main exporter of vaccines worldwide. So far, more than 200 million doses of vaccines produced in Europe have been shipped to the rest of the world,” von der Leyen said.

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The EU, a group of 27 nations, experienced a slow start to its vaccine rollout, however inoculations have steadily increased and the bloc is expecting to have 70% of its adults vaccinated by July.

“The U.S. has a similar goal. This shows how much our vaccination campaigns have aligned,” von der Leyen added.

The latest data show that Israel, the U.K., the U.S and Chile are leading the way when it comes to the number of Covid-19 shots administered so far. However, the figures also show that inoculation rates in the EU are significantly above the world’s average, which was not the case some weeks ago.
Dr. Peter Hotez said Tuesday that the optics of having to incentivize the Covid vaccine do not put the U.S. in a positive light to the rest of the world.

“When people are clamoring for vaccines in India and in Brazil, it just makes us look like a nation of sulky adolescents. … So if it’s absolutely necessary, sure, although it’s tough to swallow,” said Hotez, who is the dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine.  

A recent survey from UCLA showed that roughly one-third of unvaccinated people said a $100 cash payment would make them more likely to get a shot.

The pace of vaccinations has been slipping nationwide. The U.S. is averaging about 2.3 million shots per day, which is down 32% from the peak last month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The federal government is changing vaccine allocation strategies across the country amid the slowing pace of vaccinations. States can turn down doses that they don’t need and the shots will be redistributed to areas with higher demand. 

Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith,” that there is a risk in the new strategy. 

“In terms of sending away unused doses to other states, the risk of that one is, we do create this red state/blue state divide where we stop transmission in some parts of the country, but not others,” said Hotez.

Multiple surveys have found that Republicans are more likely to say they don’t want a vaccine.

Hotez explained to host Shepard Smith that in several Northeastern blue states, more than half the population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and, as a result, there’s been greater decreases in coronavirus infections over the last two weeks.

Red states like Alabama, Tennessee, and Wyoming, however, are experiencing much smaller vaccination rates and higher infection rates than their blue-state counterparts, Hotez said. 
As coronavirus vaccination programs progress, attention is turning to summer vacations and what kind of freedoms we might experience this year — and whether this depends on our vaccination status.

A new U.K. study has highlighted the potential for tension between those that are vaccinated and the unvaccinated, especially if there are travel restrictions on those that have not yet received a Covid shot.

A British poll released Friday showed the potential for so-called “vaccine resentment” is present. Nearly one in five people who haven’t had a Covid vaccine said they’ll feel resentful toward those who have, if they don’t get one in time for their summer vacation.

The issue is salient as multiple countries consider how, and whether, to introduce a type of “vaccine passport” that could allow anyone who is vaccinated to travel.
Critics of the idea say it would be unfair to the unvaccinated whether by dint of their age — younger people in most countries are yet to be vaccinated given their lower risk from the coronavirus — or through their choice not to be vaccinated. Travel industry bodies also worry that there could be a lack of standardized approach.
For example, the EU is considering a “green digital certificate” that would show whether someone is vaccinated or has recovered from Covid or has had a recent negative test. In the U.K., meanwhile, vaccine “passports” with one’s vaccination status linked to the National Health Service app could be used.

The U.K. government is set to reveal a list of countries on May 17 where travel is permitted to with, or without, quarantining on return. But entry requirements for Brits to other countries, and vice versa, remains to be seen.

The U.K. has one thing going for it in that it has leapt ahead with its vaccination program; around 34 million adults have been vaccinated so far with a single dose of a Covid vaccine, and over 13 million have had two doses. The majority of under-40s in Britain are yet to be called for vaccination but are next in line for a Covid shot. The British government has said it’s on track to offer all U.K. adults a first dose before July 31.