Patents for an anti-Covid vaccine, Merkel ignores Biden’s streak and calls out the heads of BioNTech- Corriere.it

From our correspondent
BERLIN – Angela Merkel did not personally go to the European summit in Porto, as she only participated virtually and raised some criticism. But the chancellor Yesterday, he spoke on the phone with Ujur Shaheen, BioNTech founding scientist and father of the same name vaccine with wife Zlem Treci. The topic of the conversation was Joseph Biden’s proposal to temporarily suspend patent protection on Covid vaccines, to speed up their more equitable global distribution.

A clear indication of Merkel’s priorities, which she rejected without appeal The idea of ​​the American presidentAfter spokespersons say that Intellectual property protection is the engine of innovation and should remain so in the future. In any case, according to Merkel, the factor limiting vaccine availability isn’t patents, however Production capacity and very high quality standards required. A position in perfect harmony with Shaheen and the Renish Company.

But Angela Merkel’s attitude not only betrayed her interest in protecting a German company, which spent resources and energy on the research. In fact, there are other factors that influence the choice of a counselor. First of all, there is an internal political component that is reflected in the election campaign already underway: Verdi, Link, and NGOs immediately supported the White House proposal. GRNEN Co-Chair Robert Habeck said Germany should connect with the United States and launch an initiative at the World Health Organization. By rejecting her, Merkel could designate the CDU as the champion of Made in GermanyEspecially in the field of advanced technologies.

But even stronger and more interesting it is Strategic factor. Merkel said early on that the advent of the Biden administration after the Trump disaster, although he was welcomed with satisfaction, would not eliminate the differences of views between America and Europe. Example of a vaccine patent. To make matters worse, the American somersault puts Berlin in the face of a dilemma: On the one hand, the German government was among the first to commit to a more equitable global distribution of vaccines, generously funding the Covax initiative under the auspices of the United Nations. . On the other hand, It is disturbing that after months of insisting on the national vaccination campaign, Including a strict export ban, The United States now wants to portray itself as champions of international solidarity.