Countries pledge $8 billion for coronavirus vaccine, but U.S. absent
Source: nbc
A Trump administration official said the U.S. is already a leader in the fight against the virus with over $2.4 billion committed to global health, aid.
By Linda Givetash and Abigail Williams
An international campaign to find a vaccine for the coronavirus raised $8 billion from governments and organizations on Monday, but the United States was notably absent from the effort.
The European Commission co-led a virtual conference in response to the World Health Organization's appeal for global collaboration in the response to the pandemic, which saw support from leaders across Europe, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
China, where the virus originated, was only represented by its ambassador to the European Union.
“This will help kick-start unprecedented global cooperation,” said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.
US skips EU summit that pledges billions for vaccine efforts
A senior Trump administration official told reporters on Monday that while the efforts are welcome, the U.S. has already given significant funding and support to organizations and programs that benefit from the drive.
"It’s one of many pledging efforts that are going on, and the United States is at the lead, really at the forefront of those international efforts with an incredibly robust ramp-up effort that’s begun here in the United States," said the official.
President Donald Trump has been leading regular virtual meetings with G7 leaders and ministers to coordinate the response, the official said. The U.S. is also providing $2.4 billion toward fighting COVID-19 globally through global health, humanitarian and economic efforts.
The Trump administration's absence from the campaign followed an announcement last month to halt funding to the WHO — accounting for roughly 15 percent of the agency's budget — pending a review of the agency's response to the pandemic. The president had accused the WHO of "severely mismanaging and covering up" the coronavirus crisis, specifically the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China.......................
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/countries-pledge-8-billion-coronavirus-vaccine-u-s-absent-n1200066
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ranting about reporters being unfair to his fucking ego, instead of leading and saying that the US will be helping fund a cure of this virus and the pandemic..............nope, not happening............what time is it kids its lunatic time ............and to add further insult wanting to give more tax breaks to oligarchs that don't need it , and to continue with main priority of packing the courts and and having a senate majority leader wanting states to go bankrupt.........
