US will share Covid vaccine technology

THE US will share technologies used to make Covid-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization and is working to expand rapid testing and antiviral treatments for hard-to-reach populations, President Joe Biden said yesterday.

The US will contribute an additional $200 million (about R3.2 billion) to a global health fund for future pandemic preparedness at the World Bank, he said, bringing its total contribution to $450m.

“We are making available health technologies that are owned by the US government, including stabilised spike protein used in many Covid-19 vaccines,” Biden said in his opening speech for the second global Covid-19 summit.

The summit, jointly hosted by the US, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal, was held virtually yesterday.

Biden called on world leaders to consider how their countries could contribute further to the global pandemic response.

“That is why I continue to call on Congress here at home to … provide emergency Covid-19 funding that is vital to make sure that we maintain our supplies of Covid-19 test, treatments, and vaccines, including next generation vaccines that are being developed,” he said.

“The request also includes $5m to keep up our global partnership in the fight against Covid-19.”