Not Tripping over TRIPS: An Analysis of Necessity and Legality of the COVID-19 TRIPS Waiver Proposal

Abstract

The availability of vaccinations against COVID-19 provides hope for containing the epidemic, which has already claimed over 2.84 million lives. However, inoculating millions of individuals worldwide would need large vaccine manufacturing followed by fair distribution. A barrier to vaccine development and dissemination is the developers' intellectual property rights. India and South Africa have jointly sought to the World Trade Organization that certain TRIPS rules of COVID-19 vaccines, medicines, and treatments be waived. This piece argues for such a waiver, highlighting the unique circumstances that exist. It believes that TRIPS's flexibilities are inadequate to cope with the present epidemic, particularly for nations without pharmaceutical manufacturing competence.