WHO warns against 'vaccine nationalism' and urges cooperation

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for greater global cooperation during the search for a coronavirus vaccine.

The global economy could only recover sustainably once the virus had been defeated everywhere, and therefore it is also in countries' national interest to cooperate, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday evening in Geneva.

He said that research on as many vaccines as possible would have to be conducted, instead of relying on individual candidates.

"Excess demand and competition for supply is already creating vaccine nationalism and risk of price gouging," he said.

"This is the kind of market failure that only global solidarity, public sector investment and engagement can solve."

Fund needs billions

Nine of the world's clinically tested vaccines would be available to countries through a fund created under what the WHO called the "ACT (Access to Covid-19 Tools) Accelerator."

However, the fund still needs 31.3 billion dollars according to the WHO.

In June, the fund had already warned governments, foundations and the private sector that the international community had only pledged a fraction of the necessary money.

In addition to vaccines, the fund is also to help in the research and production of tests and drugs against Covid-19.