BERLIN (Reuters) – The question of COVID-19 vaccine patents was not discussed at a meeting of the health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Berlin, German Health Ministers Karl Lauterbach said on Thursday.
“We haven’t discussed the release of patents because the question hasn’t come up yet, but that can definitely happen,” Lauterbach told a joint news conference with German Development Minister Svenja Schulze.
“The problem we currently have is that of middle- and lower-income countries’ willingness to use the vaccine,” Lauterbach said, adding that there was more vaccine available than people ready to take it.
Germany is against a planned intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, saying patents are a crucial way of encouraging companies to continue pushing ahead with new research.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Paul Carrel)
