World leaders pledge billions for coronavirus vaccine research

[Newest Reality]

Guess how much the US has pledged so far? Well, you know what to expect.

BRUSSELS — World leaders, organizations and banks on Monday pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for research to find a vaccine against the coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease.

The funds, pledged at a video-conference summit hosted by the European Union, fell marginally short of the 7.5 billion euros being sought, but more money could arrive in coming days. Notably absent from the event was the United States, where more than 67,000 people have died, and Russia.

Despite the shortfall, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, the target being sought Monday to help find a vaccine, new treatments and better tests for the disease would only ever amount to a “down-payment” on the tools that will be needed to fight the virus.

“To reach everyone, everywhere, we likely need five times that amount,” Guterres said.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-05-04/world-leaders-pledge-billions-for-virus-vaccine-research

[BigmanPigman]

1. Fortunately we have Bill Gates who has put tons of his own $$$

into finding a vaccine so he helps me feel a tiny bit better about the US in the eyes of our former allies. Meanwhile Putin, the richest person on the planet, is watching his country's numbers skyrocket in both new cases and new deaths. How much has he personally invested in finding a cure for the rest of the world?

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/russia/