<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The United States will not join an international effort to create and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine, the Trump administration said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In the announcement, the White House said it does not want to be constrained by multinational groups such as the World Health Organization, the Associated Press<\/i> reported. In early July, the Trump administration announced it was pulling out of the WHO.<\/p>\n
While some nations have gone it alone to secure supplies of vaccines, others are working together. The COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) is being set up by more than 150 countries and is linked with the WHO, the AP<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration’s decision is shortsighted and will hamper efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., a medical doctor. “Joining COVAX is a simple measure to guarantee U.S. access to a vaccine — no matter who develops it first,” Bera tweeted, the AP<\/i> reported. “This go-it-alone approach leaves America at risk of not getting a vaccine.”<\/p>\n