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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis called on international scientific cooperation on Sunday to discover a coronavirus vaccine and said any successful vaccine should be available worldwide.
Francis, who has been delivering his Sunday address from the papal library instead of Saint Peter’s Square due to the confinement in Italy, thanked everyone around the world who provided essential services.
It encouraged international cooperation to deal with the crisis and fight the virus, which has infected nearly 3.5 million people and killed more than 240,000 people worldwide.
“In fact, it is important to unite scientific capabilities, in a transparent and impartial way, to find vaccines and treatments,” he said.
Francis said it was also important “to guarantee universal access to essential technologies that enable every infected person, in all parts of the world, to receive the necessary medical treatment.”
World leaders pledged in April to accelerate work on COVID-19 tests, drugs, and vaccines across the world, but the United States was not involved in launching the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative.
United States President Donald Trump said the WHO was slow to react to the outbreak and was “focused on China,” and as a consequence announced a suspension of funds. The WHO has defended its management of the crisis.
Several pharmaceutical companies around the world have developed tests to identify antibodies that develop after someone has come in contact with the virus.
The Trump administration plans to accelerate the development of a coronavirus vaccine with the goal of having 100 million doses ready by the end of 2020, according to a senior US administration official.
Most experts have suggested that clinical trials to ensure that a vaccine is safe and effective could take a minimum of 12 to 18 months.
On Sunday, the pope also endorsed a proposal by an interfaith group known as the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity for an international day of prayer and fasting on May 14 to ask God to help humanity overcome the pandemic.
(Report by Philip Pullella; Edited by Edmund Blair)
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