The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said that the US administration’s call to remove patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines could help expand fair access to vaccines but might not be the most “critical issue”, as officials in Europe increasingly insist that more vaccine exports are the more pressing priority, AP reports.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a virtual conference that the trade body aimed to find a “pragmatic solution that assures access to developing countries to deal with vaccine inequity, whilst at the same time making sure we don’t disincentivise research and innovation”.

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