US Opts Out of Global Funding Push

World leaders and organizations pledged $8 billion yesterday to the hunt for possible vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, Reuters reports.
 
Kicking off the pledge drive at a virtual event Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that any new tools to fight the global scourge of COVID-19 must be made affordable and accessible to all, Reuters reports.

To the dismay of many officials, the U.S. refused to contribute, saying the funding push “is one of many pledging efforts that are going on and the United States is at the forefront.”

And maybe that’s okay, says Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine: “If it was all under one umbrella, you risk that some strong-willed opinions would carry the day and you might not fund the best technology,” the Washington Post reports.