The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, speaks during a media briefing on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Downing Street, on January 15, 2021, in London, England.
Dominic Lipinski | Getty Images
LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on leaders in the world’s largest economies to support efforts to accelerate the development of new vaccines.
Johnson, who will lead a virtual meeting with G-7 leaders on Friday, is expected to outline the ambition to reduce 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 a “huge and unprecedented global achievement.”
“By further reducing the time for the development of new vaccines for emerging diseases, we may be able to prevent the catastrophic health, economic and social repercussions seen 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 must not rely on laurels,” Johnson said before the meeting.
“As G7 leaders, we must say today: never,” he added, urging the coalition of leaders to capitalize on “collective ingenuity” to ensure there are “vaccines, treatments and tests to prepare for the fight against future threats.” health ”. ”
Johnson has called on the British Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Patrick Vallance, to work with international partners, including the World Health Organization and CEPI, along with industry and scientific experts to advise the G-7 on accelerating the development of vaccines, treatments and tests.
At Friday’s meeting, Johnson is also set to confirm that the UK will share the majority of any future doses of coronavirus vaccine in excess of Covax. This is a global initiative led by WHO and CEPI, among others, which aims to provide low-income nations with equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.
Last month, the World Health Organization’s top official warned that the world was on the brink of “catastrophic moral failure” due to Covid’s unequal vaccination policies.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on January 18, condemned what he described as a “first-rate approach in me” in high-income countries, saying it was self-defeating and endangering the poorest and most vulnerable. vulnerable people in the world.
Almost all high-income countries have given priority to distributing the vaccine to their own populations. The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres described what we see today in terms of global access to vaccines as “far from fair.”
Friday’s meeting will be the first in Britain’s “G-7 presidency” for 2021. It will also be President Joe Biden’s first major multilateral commitment.
Johnson outlined a five-point plan to prevent future pandemics at the United Nations General Assembly last year. This will be the focal point of the UK G-7 presidency on Friday.