G7 countries tell Trump that international cooperation on future vaccines is crucial
When health experts describe the covid-19 strain of coronavirus as a “global pandemic,” the “global” part is crucial: the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world all have a mutual interest in fighting the deadly virus. And the importance of international cooperation on future coronavirus vaccines, Patrick Wintour reports in the Guardian, was recently stressed at G7 video summit on Monday, March 16 — when world leaders asserted that medical firms must share research on possible coronavirus vaccines and not give products to one country exclusively.
President Donald Trump, according to Wintour, “has been accused by German political leaders of trying to buy exclusive U.S. access to vaccines being prepared by a German firm, CureVac Laboratory. The German firm and the U.S. have denied the move, but the episode, first reported in the German press (over) the weekend, has symbolized fears that Trump does not have an instinct to cooperate with other world leaders to fight the virus.”
The G7 consists of the U.S. and Canada as well as Germany, Italy, Japan, France and the U.K. (which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Italy has been hit especially hard by coronavirus: as of early Tuesday afternoon, March 17, Italy has suffered at least 2158 coronavirus-related deaths (according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore). And the entire country remains in a state of lockdown with severe travel restrictions.
Following the one-hour video summit, the G7 leaders issued a joint statement and asserted, “By acting together, we will work to resolve the health and economic risks caused by the covid-19 pandemic and set the stage for a strong recovery of strong, sustainable economic growth and prosperity.”
The G7 has united European Union (EU) countries and non-EU countries, and EU Council President Charles Michel also emphasized the need for international cooperation on future coronavirus vaccines — saying, “We expressed a very strong political will that we considered it very important to work together to develop vaccines and therapies.”
According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it is “of the utmost importance that neighboring countries harmonize their measures so that there is the same strong message to the people that the member states are conveying, because that then increases the certainty of the people.”
