Joe Biden's decision to support waiving intellectual property rights for coronavirus shots had a broader purpose: to broadcast his administration's commitment to global leadership.More than a month of internal debate led up to Biden's decision this week to endorse international calls to strip patent protections for vaccines.The policy shift, embraced by many charitable service organizations around the world and liberals at home, wasn't new.Biden endorsed it during his campaign for the White House.
But the idea was the subject of pitched discussions inside the administration over how best to bring the pandemic to an end while restoring US influence abroad.In the best case, officials acknowledge it will take at least a year for any additional.