British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at a press conference on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Downing Street on 15 January 2021 in London, England.
Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images
LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on 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, is expected to set out an ambition to shorten the time to develop new vaccines by two-thirds to 100 days.
A statement from Downing Street said the development of a coronavirus vaccine in about 300 days was an ‘enormous and unprecedented global achievement’.
“By further reducing the time to develop new vaccines for emerging diseases, we can prevent the catastrophic consequences for health, economic and social consequences in this crisis,” the government said.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations proposed this 100-day goal earlier this year.
“The development of viable vaccines against coronavirus offers the tempting prospect of a return to normalcy, but we should not rest on our laurels,” Johnson told the meeting.
“As leaders of the G7, we must say today: ‘never again,'” he added, urging the coalition of leaders to use “common sense” to ensure there are “vaccines, treatments and tests to be ready for.” future health threats’. ”
Johnson has asked the UK Government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, to work with international partners, including the World Health Organization and CEPI, to advise the G-7 on accelerating the development of vaccines and treatments. and tests.
At Friday’s meeting, Johnson will also confirm that the UK will share the majority of future doses of surplus coronavirus vaccine with Covax. It is a global initiative led by the WHO and CEPI, among others, which aims to provide low-income countries with equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.
Last month, the top official of the World Health Organization warned that the world was on the verge of a ‘catastrophic moral failure’ due to the unequal Covid vaccine policy.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on January 18 condemned what he described as a ‘first approach’ to high-income countries, saying it was self-defeating and endangering the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
Almost all high-income countries have prioritized the distribution of vaccines among their own population. The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres described what we consider today in terms of global access to vaccines as ‘far from an image of fairness’.
Friday’s meeting will be the first in the G21 presidency of 2021 in the UK. It will also be President Joe Biden’s first major multilateral engagement.
Johnson outlined a five-point plan to prevent future pandemics at the United Nations General Assembly last year. It will focus on the G-7 presidency of the United Kingdom on Friday.