US health chief says any COVID-19 vaccine would be shared fairly once US needs met

US Health Secretary Alex Azar, on August 10, said that any vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 would be “fairly and equitably" shared with rest of the world once needs are met in America. The country, under its Operation Warp Speed', has already invested over $9.4 billion on COVID-19 vaccines and is hoping for vaccine distribution by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Azar, who is on a three-day visit to Taiwan, said that US' first priority is to develop enough quantity of “safe" vaccines for the Americans to use. However, once the needs back home are met, the drugs would-be fairly made available to the rest of the world.

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“Our first priority, of course, is to develop and produce enough quantity of safe and effective FDA-approved vaccines and therapeutics for use in the United States. But we anticipate having a capacity that, once those needs are satisfied, those products would be available in the world community according to fair and equitable distributions that we would consult in the international community on,” Azar said at a press briefing in Taiwan.

'Largest funder of public health' 

While speaking about the US’ decision to withdraw from the World Health Organisation, he said that it does not mean that the country would show less public involvement in global health. He then added that the US would continue to be the “largest funder of public health” in the world.

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“After our departure from the WHO, we will work with others in the world community to find the appropriate vehicles for continuing to support, on a multilateral and bilateral basis, global public health on the order that the United States has done in the past,” he said. 

This comes as President Donald Trump expressed optimism on the possibility of having a drug for the deadly COVID-19 ready by November 2020. Speaking with Cleveland radio station, Trump said, “Sooner than the end of the year, could be much sooner.”  He was asked when will a vaccine for COVID-19 be ready and if it will be available sooner than November 3, the date of the US Presidential election. To this, Trump replied, "I think in some cases, yes possible before, but right around that time."

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