Macron Backs Vaccine Patent Waiver As France Steps Up Jabs

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he was "absolutely in favour" of a global waiver on patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, adding his voice to a campaign backed by US President Joe Bide

Paris (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th May, 2021 ) :French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he was "absolutely in favour" of a global waiver on patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, adding his voice to a campaign backed by US President Joe Biden.

Macron's statement marked a shift for France, which had previously opposed such a move as likely to discourage innovation and argued patents should only be waived as a last resort.

No French pharmaceutical company has managed to develop an approved Covid-19 vaccine.

Macron also said his country's vaccination campaign would be stepped up, saying that unused shots could be snapped up by all adults from next week, irrespective of their health status.

Under current rules, vaccines are only available to over-55s or people with chronic health problems.

"We don't want even a single dose to go to waste," Macron said as he opened the capital's biggest vaccination centre, run by the fire brigade at Porte de Versailles.