“Shortsighted” and “Self-defeating”: US rejects global COVID-19 vaccine effort

Enlarge / A medical worker holds a bottle of a candidate COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University that is being tested in a trial in Soweto, South Africa. (credit: Getty | Gallo Images)

The Trump administration will not take part in a global effort to help develop and equitably distribute a COVID-19 vaccine-a decision experts called shortsighted" and self-defeating"-according to a report by The Washington Post.

The White House cited the involvement of the World Health Organization in its decision to shun the effort. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the WHO for being soft on China during the global health crisis, despite the fact that Trump himself repeatedly praised China for its transparency" and response to the pandemic in January and February. At the end of May, Trump abruptly announced that he was terminating our relationship" with the WHO, a move that alarmed public health experts.

White House spokesperson Judd Deere told the Post that 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."

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments