The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, speaks during a coronavirus briefing (COVID-19) on Downing Street on January 15, 2021 in London, England.
Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images
LONDON – The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, will ask the leaders of the world’s largest economies to support efforts to accelerate the development of new vaccines.
Johnson, who will chair a virtual meeting with G-7 leaders on Friday, plans to outline the ambition to reduce the time to develop new vaccines from two-thirds to 100 days.
A Downing Street statement said the development of a coronavirus vaccine in about 300 days was an “unprecedented global success.”
“By further reducing the time to develop new vaccines for emerging diseases, we may be able to prevent the catastrophic economic and social repercussions on health, in this crisis,” the government said.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations first proposed this 100-day target earlier this year.
“The development of viable coronavirus vaccines offers the tempting prospect of a return to normalcy, but we should not rest on our laurels,” Johnson said before the meeting.
“As G7 leaders we must say today: never again,” he added, urging the coalition of leaders to take advantage of “collective ingenuity” to ensure there are “vaccines, treatments and tests to be prepared for.” the battle for future health threats “. ”
Johnson has asked UK government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance to work with international partners, including the World Health Organization and CEPI, along with industry experts and scientists to advise the G-7 on acceleration of vaccine development, treatments and testing.
At Friday’s meeting, Johnson will also confirm that the UK will share the majority of future coronavirus overdose vaccine doses with Covax. It is a global initiative co-led by WHO and CEPI, among others, with the goal of providing low-income nations with equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.
Last month, the top official of the World Health Organization warned that the world was on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” due to unequal vaccine policies against Covid.
On January 18, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned what he described as a “first approach to me” from high-income countries, saying he defeats himself and puts the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people at risk. .
Almost all high-income countries have prioritized the distribution of vaccines to their own populations. The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres has described what we see today in terms of access to vaccines worldwide as a “very far from an image of equity”.
Friday’s meeting will be the first of the UK’s “G-7 Presidency” for 2021. It will also be President Joe Biden’s first major multilateral engagement.
Johnson had outlined a five-point plan to prevent future pandemics at the UN General Assembly last year. This will be the focus of the UK G-7 presidency on Friday.