Some countries hope the World Trade Organization (WTO) will make a big announcement by December 17. They want a recent "waiver" on intellectual property for Covid-19 vaccines to be expanded to include diagnostics and therapeutics. Other countries are against this, arguing it would only benefit the proponents' industrial policy ambitions and do nothing to facilitate access. Indeed, an expansion would set an untenable precedent, and leave the world less prepared for the next pandemic.
Last June, at a meeting of trade ministers in Geneva, the WTO agreed to a five-year waiver on Covid-19 vaccine patents. The original draft of the waiver included diagnostics and therapeutics. But to get a deal done, an agreement was reached to separate these out and take them up within six months. There is some disagreement about whether an actual vote, or simply a commitment to talk more, is due by December 17. Regardless, WTO members now find themselves less than two months out from this date.
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