Vaccine Patents Waiver

Debate between Lord Grimstone of Boscobel and Baroness Sugg

Monday 24th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, ramping up production will take a number of years, particularly if there is no TRIPS waiver. Until then, richer countries sharing their doses with lower-income countries will be critical to ending the pandemic. Will the Minister commit to doing more on transparency here, so that we join other countries in publishing the type and number of doses that we are sharing, along with their sell-by dates?

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My noble friend makes a good point. It is interesting that, as reported in the Financial Times last week, Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s head of vaccines, said that the health body saw a

“very positive outlook for supply”

in 2022. But she cautioned that that was predicated on dose-sharing continuing, and manufacturers continuing to honour deals brokered under COVAX. This is the way forward.