U.S. Says It Supports Easing Patent Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines & More In Today’s News

By  Julyssa Lopez

Demonstrators hold a rally to "Free the Vaccine," calling on the US to commit to a global coronavirus vaccination plan that includes sharing vaccine formulas with the world to help ensure that every nation has access to a vaccine, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, May 5, 2021. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Demonstrators hold a rally to "Free the Vaccine," calling on the US to commit to a global coronavirus vaccination plan that includes sharing vaccine formulas with the world to help ensure that every nation has access to a vaccine, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, May 5, 2021. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.

  • The Biden administration says it will support easing patent rules on COVID-19 vaccines, which does not yet guarantee global patent rules are lifted, but provides a major step to potentially expanding the global vaccine supply and narrowing the vaccination gap between rich and poor nations. “The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. [CNN]
  • More than half of all American adults (roughly 148 million people) have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, but experts caution that vaccination rates are slipping and virus variants continue to spread. They’ve said that while the country can expect significant local and regional surges in the coming weeks, they do not think they will be as widespread or reach past peaks. [NYT]
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded significantly large shelter construction and management contracts to private companies for the creation of shelters to house migrants, including some of 22,000 unaccompanied children. HHS states that these new centers are “consistent with best practices/standards in emergency response or other humanitarian situations.” HHS has refused news media access once the children are brought into facilities, citing coronavirus and privacy concerns. In addition to building new shelters, HHS claims they are taking “aggressive actions” to speed up the children’s release, such as by putting them on flights to be with their families. [AP]
  • An ACLU lawyer negotiating with the Biden administration to reunify thousands of migrant families is hopeful that soon “more than 1,000 will be on the path not just to reunification but to be able to live with their children permanently in the U.S.” Four families separated by the Trump administration are already set to be reunited this week. [NBC]
  • Haiti has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world with only 256 confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported by the end of April. As the infection rate is low, the country has reversed many pandemic measures. Health officials express optimism as well as caution, noting that while Haiti may have avoided the bulk of the pandemic, a catastrophic wave similar to the surge seen in India could occur. [NPR]
  • Demi Lovato shared a Boomerang on Instagram of a mug she painted herself that reads, “I am worth it,” next to the heart symbol associated with the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). Lovato opened up about the struggles with her eating disorder, something she has discussed in the past. Lovato said she painted the mug while “in the throes” of her eating disorder. “I still have hope that someday I won’t think about it anymore. For now my mug reminds me that I am worth it, and today I believe it,” she wrote. [eonline]
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