Lisa Nandy – 2021 Comments on USTR’s Statement on Covid-19 Patents

The comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 6 May 2021.

These proposals from the US are welcome and it is vital that the UK government follows the Biden Administration’s lead and engages constructively to develop a workable plan at the WTO.

This is an important first step but if we are to deliver the massive global increase in vaccine production that is urgently needed we must also develop a plan to share our expertise, equipment and raw materials, and take action to identify, equip and finance the mass production facilities needed in every region of the globe.

So alongside today’s discussions, the UK government must begin work with the US and others on a comprehensive international agreement to bring about that step change in production, and replicate the speed, scale and success of the UK and US vaccination programmes in every country in the world.