President Joe Biden threw his support behind waiving intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines in a sharp U.S. reversal, but it could take months for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to hammer out any deal.

Before Biden's announcement on Wednesday, India and South Africa confirmed their intention to draft a new waiver proposal at a WTO General Council meeting, prompting the body's new Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to express hope for "a pragmatic solution".