Insta
US President Donald Trump (Pic Via Twitter)
The United States will stay away from international efforts to develop and distribute Covid-19 vaccine due to its association with the World Health Organization (WHO), the White House has said.
The decision on Tuesday (1 September) not to participate in the “COVAX” initiative marks further deterioration of the Donald Trump administration’s relations with the UN health agency.
“The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” Judd Deere, a spokesman for the White House, was quoted as saying in a statement by Forbes.
The COVAX initiative was formed with the aim of working with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries worldwide equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, once they are licensed and approved.
More than 170 economies are now engaged in discussions to potentially participate in the initiative which currently has one of the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccine portfolios — including nine candidate vaccines, with a further nine under evaluation and conversations underway with other major producers.
It is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the WHO.
The European Commission on Monday confirmed its interest to participate in the COVAX facility and announced a contribution of 400 million euros ($478 million) to the initiative.
In early April, Trump lashed out at the WHO for its response to the outbreak.
He accused the UN health agency of downplaying the severity of the pandemic in the beginning for its “China-centric” approach and froze US funding to the organisation.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest