vaccines, sources familiar with the deal said on Tuesday. The tentative agreement among the four World Trade Organization members still needs formal approvals from the parties before it can be considered official, the sources said.
It would apply only to patents for COVID-19 vaccines, which would be much more limited in scope than a broad proposed WTO waiver that had won backing from the United States, they said.
The tentative agreement does not include COVID-19 treatments or tests, and contains limitations that would likely exclude China from any waiver, one of the sources said.
The text of the agreement was being circulated in Brussels, Washington, Johannesburg and New Delhi, with decisions on the length of the waivers still to be resolved, the source added.