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U.S. rejects U.N. declaration on preparing for future pandemics

scienceSep 26, 20268110

At a U.N. meeting the United States formally opposed a political declaration on preparing for future pandemics, even as most member states backed the text. Several wealthy countries, including members of the European Union, registered strong objections over provisions related to intellectual property, automatic sharing of virus samples, and compulsory technology transfer for vaccines and treatments. The European Union said the document crossed "red lines" on intellectual property and insisted technology transfer must be voluntary and "on mutually agreed terms." The declaration was not legally binding, but developing countries had pushed for the language to secure more equitable access to vaccines and other health technologies. The U.S. and EU opposition creates a clear split that could complicate future U.N. efforts to codify cooperative pandemic response measures and leave disagreements over IP and sample sharing unresolved.

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