Pope Francis Appeals for International Cooperation over Coronavirus Vaccine

THE Pope has appealed for international cooperation in the race to find a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Speaking from the papal library at the Vatican, Pope Francis said that any successful vaccine should be made available all around the world.

He also thanked everybody who was involved in providing essential services during the pandemic crisis. Francis pleaded for scientists to get together in his weekly Sunday sermon.

“It is important to unite scientific capabilities, in a transparent and impartial way to find vaccines and treatments,” he said.

He added that it was also important to “guarantee universal access to essential technologies that allow each infected person, in every part of the world, to receive the necessary medical treatment.”

World leaders pledged last month to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against the coronavirus and to share them around the globe, but the United States did not take part in the launch of the World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative.

US President Donald Trump has said the WHO was slow to react to the outbreak and was being “China-centric,” and as a consequence has announced a suspension of WHO

A number of pharmaceutical companies around the world have developed tests to identify antibodies that develop after somebody has come into contact with the virus.

Pope Francis also supported a proposal by an inter-religious group known as the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity for an international day of prayer and fasting on May 14 to ask God to help humanity overcome the pandemic.