US and Russia not included in global effort to raise $8B for coronavirus vaccine

• A global effort pledged at least $8 billion on Monday to help speed up research toward a vaccine for COVID-19.
• The participants did not include US and Russia, however.
• According to senior US officials, the country’s participation was not needed because the nation remains the world’s largest donor to global health initiatives.

At least $8 billion has been pledged on Monday to help speed up research toward a vaccine for COVID-19. The global effort involved world leaders, banks, and non-governmental organizations — but did not include the United States.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, stated that the pledges will “help kick-start unprecedented global cooperation” in the ongoing fight against the global pandemic.

The virus has already killed more than 248,000 across the globe as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The funds will tremendously help in creating coronavirus vaccines, diagnostics, and treatment.

But according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the world would still “likely need five times that amount,” in order “to reach everyone, everywhere.”

Guterres referred to the $8 billion goal as only a “down payment” of overall funds needed to successfully fight the pandemic.

The funding still falls short of the initial goal of 7.5 billion euros, but additional money is still expected. The goal includes about $4.37 billion for vaccine research, $2.18 billion for treatments, and about $1.64 billion for testing.

“I believe the fourth of May will mark a turning point in our fight against coronavirus because today the world is coming together,” von der Leyer declared.

The event organizers included the European Union, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and China, although China was solely represented by its European Union ambassador.

Some event speakers included leaders from Australia, Israel, Jordan, South Africa, and France. French President Emmanuel Macron remarked that the “race against time” was underway as his country donated 500 million euros.

According to Reuters, the US did not participate, despite having the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. Russia, also, did not participate.

A senior US administration official only declared that the US supports the EU’s pledging effort, but declined to say why the country wasn’t part of the effort.

Two other senior US officials told reporters that the country’s participation was not needed because the nation remains the world’s largest donor to global health initiatives.

Last month, however, President Trump said he planned to stop funding the World Health Organization.

“It is a pity the US is not part of it,” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told Reuters. “When you are in a crisis, you manage it and you do it jointly with others.” Norway had pledged $1 billion.

Source: New York Post