By Ben Kerrigan-
Uk Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described a vaccine needed to combat the coronavirus as an impregnable shield needed to defeat the coronavirus, saying it is ”the endeavour of a lifetime”. Johnson said he was calling on countries to come together in a “truly global effort” to defeat coronavirus at a virtual international coronavirus pledging conference today
Kickstarting a month-long international investment drive ahead of the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June. As part of a major international conference to drive forward the global race for coronavirus vaccines, Johnson said that treatments and tests – and call on other countries to step up their efforts and work together on the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”.
The online pledging conference attended by the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and representatives of the EU is to jointly fund adequate support to tackle the coronavirus. His call to action will come during the virtual Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Conference, which is co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations.
The UK’s pledge of £388 million in UK aid funding for research into vaccines, tests and treatments, are part of a larger £744 million existing UK aid commitment to help end the pandemic and support the global economy. This includes £250 million for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop vaccines against coronavirus – the biggest such donation to the fund by any country.
The Prime Minister said:
”To win this battle, we must work together to build an impregnable shield around all our people, and that can only be achieved by developing and mass producing a vaccine.
The more we pull together and share our expertise, the faster our scientists will succeed. The race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries, but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes.
It’s humanity against the virus – we are in this together, and together we will prevail”.
International Development Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, added:
”It is only by working together that we will prevent future waves of infection and end this pandemic as quickly as possible. The government also said that ”by developing countries’ health systems and working to find a vaccine, the UK is playing its part in stopping the global spread of coronavirus to save lives everywhere and protect our NHS.
Tackling coronavirus globally is crucial to preventing a second wave of the virus re-emerging in the UK, which would put even further pressure on the NHS. It will also ensure that life-saving vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests are available as soon as possible”.
The government made reference to the partnership between the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to support large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of a vaccine currently being trialled by the university. On the 4th June, The UK will host the Global Vaccine Summit on June 4 as part of a plan to bring together countries and organisations to follow the UK’s lead in investing in the work of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Last week International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced a funding pledge equivalent to £330 million a year over the next five years to Gavi. This will help immunise 75 million children in the world’s poorest countries.The UK has so far provided £744 million of UK aid for the global response to coronavirus, but has faced criticism over the late provision of PPE equipment and insufficient ventilators. Ventilators themselves have been a source of controversy following claims from an American nurse that they are potentially damaging because of their potential impact on the lungs.
Today’s pledge towards the $8bn target comprises of the UK’s previously announced £388 million support for new vaccines, tests and treatment. It also includes £250 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the biggest contribution of any country, to this fund to research a coronavirus vaccine.
Another £40 million fund to support the Global Therapeutics Accelerator has also been thrown in for the rapid development of coronavirus treatments. £23 million to support Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics to develop rapid tests for the virus to help identify and slow its spread.
Exit Plan
Calls to speed up an exit plan has so far been resisted by the government, who say the risk of a second wave is too serious to open up soon. However, it is believed that schools may open first around the end of May or early June, but there is nothing concrete on that.
Assuming schools do open, there would be questions as to why they can take their exams if they had been studying online as expected of them since the lockdown began on March 23. The death rates from Covid-19 has continued to rise but at a lower rate than previously.