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The Biden administration will support a proposal to waive certain patent protections for coronavirus vaccines — a dramatic and controversial move designed to quickly bolster global supplies.

Why it matters: Proponents say this will help swiftly produce the vaccine doses that the developing world desperately needs. But the complex logistics of making and distributing the shots could limit the waiver’s impact, and critics say it sets a dangerous precedent.

The big picture: Developing nations and advocates on the left have been pushing the Biden administration for weeks to support a waiver of certain intellectual property rights to the vaccines, which the U.S., along with Europe and the pharmaceutical industry, had resisted until today.

  • A waiver would open the door for foreign manufacturers to make their own versions of coronavirus vaccines, using what would otherwise be considered Pfizer and Moderna's trade secrets.

The other side: Intellectual property rights are only one piece of the puzzle. Sourcing the ingredients for vaccines, standing up a complex manufacturing process, and distributing the finished doses all pose additional challenges.

  • Because of those factors, a patent waiver may not have much effect on supplies, and critics warn that the move could discourage drug companies from embarking on this kind of emergency research in the future.

What's next: Nothing's likely going to happen right away. Negotiations over the specifics of a waiver are ongoing, and will take time, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.