Professor Aisling McMahon:

I wish to respond and add to some of the points just made. Most people would agree that the current TRIPS status quomodel has really failed low- and middle-income countries not just in the context of Covid-19 but also in other contexts, such as infectious diseases like malaria and other diseases where the incentives for innovation do not necessarily match the health need. On the question of current supplies, it is true that there are more supplies at the moment. That is a very good and positive thing. However, the difficulty is that when we look back at this, we see that in 2020 and 2021 when we were at the height of Covid-19, vaccines were being distributed on the basis of bilateral deals, not necessarily on the basis of health need. That is exactly how the TRIPS framework is set up. The problem, as Dr. Kelly has pointed out, is that if we have a new variant, the same is very likely to happen. The other issue is that even though there may be more vaccines in some states, as we have already discussed, many low- and middle-income countries want the ability to make their own vaccines so that they can have a secure and stable supply. Charity and donations do not do that. Indeed, many activists in the global south have highlighted that countries do not necessarily want to rely on charity or donations. They have their place. It is important to recognise the contribution of COVAX in the short term, in particular, but COVAX charity donations just do not provide long-term sustainable supply. The other point that we should be clear on is that Covid-19 is a global pandemic. It is probably the worst health crisis that we have faced in our lifetime, in terms of its global impact. The TRIPS waiver is being discussed in that context, and in a context where voluntary mechanisms such as C-TAP were suggested by the WHO. Sadly, they did not have enough support from states and industry to be successful. It is in that context that we are discussing mandatory solutions like the waiver. Let us be clear, IP is not the only issue. There are other issues as well. However, if we do not address the IP obstacles, we will not have those other solutions. That is what I would add.