Experts have criticised the Trump administration’s decision, calling it ‘short-sighted’ and a ‘huge gamble’.
The U.S. announced Tuesday that it would not join an international coalition to find and distribute a Covid-19 vaccine worldwide due to the group’s association with the World Health Organization.
The latest sign of the Trump administration withdrawing the country from the international health community’s response to the pandemic over political concerns.
The United States on Tuesday said it will not join the global initiative to develop, manufacture and equally distribute a coronavirus vaccine, partly due to the World Health Organisation’s involvement in the process, The Washington Post reported.
On July 7, the US had officially notified its decision to the United Nations that it was pulling out of the WHO. It was the largest contributor to the global agency and had contributed $400 million (approximately Rs 3,040 crore) to the organisation last year – nearly 15% of its entire budget.
The country’s President Donald Trump had said it does not want to work with the global health body, claiming that it had deliberately covered up the early days of the pandemic to support China. The WHO had refuted Trump’s claims.
More than 170 countries are engaged in discussions to participate in the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, which is focussed on speeding up the development of a drug, and ensuring doses for all countries and distributing the vaccines to the most high-risk segment of each population.❐
