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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Do some experts say patent concerns are holding back production of COVID-19 vaccines?

Thursday, March 18, 2021

By Gus Fisher

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YES

Some experts say patent protections are unnecessarily limiting production of COVID-19 vaccines.

University of Ottawa professor Ronald Labonté says that waiving patents on the vaccines could unlock “untapped manufacturing capacity” around the world. Labonté cites UNICEF, which estimates that vaccine production could increase from 6.5 billion doses to 20 billion doses per year if manufacturers in India, China and other countries were fully utilized. London School of Economics professor Siva Thambisetty argues that Indian vaccine makers are primarily restricted by patents, rather than technological ability, as shown by a history of successfully producing generic versions of drugs like Tamiflu after patent restrictions were eased.

Manufacturers and governments have resisted calls to relax patent controls, while setting up their own industry alliances to boost availability of the vaccines.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

UNICEF Expression of interest on supply of COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the COVAX Facility

The Conversation How patent laws get in the way of the global coronavirus vaccine rollout

UNICEF COVID-19 vaccine market dashboard

London School of Economics Vaccines and patents: How self-interest and artificial scarcity weaken human solidarity

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.