Biden to Push Global Plan to Battle Covid as National Gaps Widen
The New York Times
The U.N.-backed vaccine program is so far behind schedule that not even 10 percent of the population in poor countries is fully vaccinated, experts say.
WASHINGTON — Already grappling with divisions in his own country over vaccine mandates and questions about the ethics and efficacy of booster shots, President Biden is facing another front of discord: a split among world leaders over how to eradicate the coronavirus globally, as the highly infectious Delta variant leaves a trail of death in its wake.
At a virtual summit on Wednesday, while the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting is underway, Mr. Biden will try to persuade other vaccine-producing countries to balance their domestic needs with a renewed focus on manufacturing and distributing doses to poor nations in desperate need of them.
Covax, the United Nations-backed vaccine program, is so far behind schedule that not even 10 percent of the population in poor nations is fully vaccinated, experts said.
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