U.S. Won’t Join Global Coronavirus Vaccine Effort Because WHO Is Involved
COVAX, NOVAX
The United States won’t join a consortium of countries investing in research, manufacturing, and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine because the World Health Organization is involved. More than 170 countries are considering joining the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program, and some in President Donald Trump’s administration were reportedly pushing for the U.S. to join, but the commander-in-chief pulled funding for the WHO in April, calling its response to the growing pandemic “China-centric.” A White House spokesman told The Washington Post Tuesday, “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.”