Asked by: Lord Jordan (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide COVID-19 vaccines to (1) the Republic of Barbados, and (2) other small island states which may currently be experiencing COVID-19 vaccine shortages; and whether they intend to support the proposal of the governments of India and South Africa to suspend parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights as they relate to COVID-19 vaccines.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to help bring the acute phase of the pandemic to an end as soon as possible and strongly supports the COVAX Facility as a key mechanism to deliver this. The majority of the UK's doses are being donated via COVAX. We are donating a smaller quantity to bilateral partners and countries facing their own health emergencies, to further support the global response to Covid-19. We are only donating vaccines to countries which are eligible for Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). The FCDO has responded to the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) which includes a breakdown of where doses have been sent to as of the end of November.
Throughout the pandemic our top priority has been to save lives. We firmly believe the best way to do this is to support the world's leading scientists to develop our most important weapon in the fight against COVID-19: vaccines. Our robust international intellectual property framework protects the ability of these pioneering minds to come up with new ideas and innovations. It has and will continue to allow us to develop vaccines and treatments at unprecedented pace and meet our ultimate goal of saving lives. There is no evidence that an IP waiver would help us to meet this goal. The reality is that the proposal for a TRIPS waiver would dismantle the very framework that helped to produce COVID-19 vaccines at an unprecedented pace. More worryingly, the waiver proposal could lead to a dangerous reduction in the quality of products being manufactured and in the already limited supply of key raw materials. This risks compromising vaccine efficacy and patient safety.
Whilst the UK Government has not seen evidence that Intellectual Property is a barrier to the production or supply of COVID-19 goods, including vaccines, the Government will continue to engage constructively in debates at the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council and other international institutions to promote affordable and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines for all. The UK affirmed this commitment in the 22 October G7 Trade Ministers' communique, which notes our determination to achieve an impactful outcome on trade and health, including how the international Intellectual Property framework can best support the WTO's pandemic response. The UK remains open to all initiatives that will have a demonstrable impact on vaccine production and distribution. We will continue to engage constructively in discussions at the WTO to that end. To end this pandemic sooner, we must focus efforts on the things that will make a real difference. That includes the promotion of voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements - several of which have already proven to be successful.