Mass vaccinations, falling case counts and waning coronavirus deaths in a few wealthy countries threaten to obscure ongoing worldwide suffering from the pandemic that¡¯s likely to last for months, and perhaps years, to come.
That¡¯s Carl Bildt¡¯s worry as the new special envoy to the World Health Organization-backed effort set up last year to dispatch vaccines and other weapons against COVID-19. Suppressing the virus that¡¯s advancing in India and beyond depends on persuading rich nations to share excess doses and help close a $19 billion funding gap, Bildt said in an interview.
An independent review of the international COVD-19 response echoed Bildt¡¯s concerns Wednesday, calling for Group of Seven countries to commit 60% of the money needed this year. The report urged high-income nations to provide more than 2 billion doses to poorer regions by the middle of 2022.
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