World leaders have used their speeches at this year's virtual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly to slam the haphazard response to a microscopic virus that has taken nearly 1 million lives and unleashed economic havoc in its relentless march across the globe.
Kazakhstan's president called it “a critical collapse of global cooperation.”
The pandemic and its consequences topped the list of concerns on the second day of prerecorded speeches at the General Assembly’s first virtual high-level meeting, reports Edith M. Lederer.
Countries large and small spoke about struggling to deal with the impact of the pandemic without international coordination, issuing pleas for the world to work together to combat the scourge and other global problems.
Global Vaccine Pleas: If the U.N. was created from the ashes of World War II, what will be born from the global crisis of COVID-19? Many world leaders at this week’s virtual summit hope it will be an affordable vaccine made available to all countries, rich and poor.
But with the U.S., China and Russia opting out of a collaborative effort to develop and distribute a vaccine, and some rich nations striking deals with pharmaceutical companies to secure millions of doses, the U.N. pleas are likely in vain, Cara Anna reports.
U.S. Vaccine: A huge study of a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is getting underway as U.S. health officials seek to assure a skeptical public they can trust any shots the government ultimately approves. Trump is pushing for a fast decision, but the Food and Drug Administration's chief has pledged that action will be based on science, not politics.
Hopes are high that answers about at least one of several vaccine candidates could come by year's end. The one-dose contender from Johnson & Johnson will be tested in 60,000 people in the U.S. and several other countries, Lauran Neergaard and Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar report.
How can I tell the difference between the flu and COVID-19? The AP is answering Viral Questions in this series.
Source: https://link.apnews.com/
