On June 17, 2022, at the twelfth session of the WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva, the Ministerial Conference agreed on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines that will allow member countries to produce and distribute vaccines “without the consent of the right holder to the extent necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic.” States may “authorize the use of the subject matter of a patent under Article 31 [of TRIPS] without the right holder’s consent through any instrument available in the law of the Member such as executive orders, emergency decrees, government use authorizations, and judicial or administrative orders.” The waiver is valid for five years, but can be extended by the General Council. It will be reviewed annually. According to JURIST, the waiver has been criticized by some for failing to also cover treatments for the virus.