The European Union called on the international community Wednesday to ensure potential coronavirus vaccines are equally available to all nations.
In a video statement, EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen called a global vaccine summit on June 27 at which the EU and its partners will solicit countries to pool their resources and reserve future vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.
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She said high income countries would act as an inclusive international buyers' group, ensuring commercial vaccine makers got the money they needed to develop and produce vaccines, while low income nations had access to the medicine.
The plan is part of a wider EU strategy to secure enough doses for both the grouping of nations and the world's poorest countries because it fears lagging behind the United States and China.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference, detailing EU efforts to limit the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, at EU headquarters in Brussels, April 2, 2020. VOA
The EU Commission leader said "When it comes to fighting a global pandemic there is no place for 'me first.' Europe is not an island. Our economies are tightly connected — not only among themselves — but also with the rest of the world through global trade, travel and cooperation."
The summit will be the last planned virtual fund-raising campaign co-led by the EU to secure money to distribute potential COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries. (VOA)