AP: More than 150 countries sign up for global vaccine plan
“More than 70 rich countries have signed up to a global coronavirus vaccine initiative intended to ensure that any effective shots are fairly distributed around the world — but which may also allow them to buy more vaccines to stockpile for their own citizens. In a statement on Wednesday, the vaccines alliance Gavi reported that 75 countries have said they would join its new ‘Covax facility’ along with another 90 low-income countries that hope to receive donated vaccines…” (Cheng, 7/15).

UPI: WHO-led vaccine initiatives garner support from 75 countries, but not the U.S.
“…Taken together, the multi-national partnership, which does not include the United States, will increase funding to COVAX, the new coronavirus vaccine development platform overseen by the WHO and other organizations, the WHO officials said. Should an effective vaccine be developed within the program, it will be available to the 165 countries that have agreed to participate, meaning more than 60 percent of the world’s population could be inoculated against SARS-CoV-2, the officials said…” (Dunleavy, 7/15).

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Axios: 8 world leaders demand equal access to coronavirus vaccine
“Eight world leaders called on the international community in a Washington Post op-ed Wednesday to ensure that people across the globe have equal access to a future vaccine for the coronavirus…” (Knutson, 7/15).

CBC News: Trudeau pens op-ed with world leaders calling for equal access to coronavirus vaccine
“…In a new opinion piece published in the Washington Post’s ‘Global Opinions’ section, the leaders urge countries to co-operate on manufacturing and distributing a vaccine to ensure that less-developed countries don’t lose out to rich ones. ‘As the world is still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic of the 21st century, with the number of cases still rising at the global level, immunization is our best chance of ending the pandemic at home and across the world — but only if all countries get access to the vaccine,’ it reads…” (Jones, 7/15).

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AP: U.K., U.S., Canada accuse Russia of hacking virus vaccine trials
“Britain, the United States, and Canada accused Russia on Thursday of trying to steal information from researchers seeking a COVID-19 vaccine. The three nations alleged that hacking group APT29, also known as Cozy Bear and said to be part of the Russian intelligence service, is attacking academic and pharmaceutical research institutions involved in coronavirus vaccine development. Britain’s National Cybersecurity Centre made the announcement, which was coordinated with authorities in the U.S. and Canada…” (Lawless/Kirka, 7/16).

Additional coverage of the announcement is available from BBC, The Guardian, and The Telegraph.

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CNBC: The world will make China ‘pay a price’ over coronavirus outbreak, Mike Pompeo says
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that he believes the world will make China ‘pay a price’ for the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think the world will absolutely make them pay a price,’ the nation’s top diplomat said during a virtual event with The Hill. ‘Every place I go, every foreign minister that I talk to, they recognize what China has done to the world. I’m very confident that the world will look at China differently and engage with them fundamentally different than they did before this catastrophic disaster,’ Pompeo said. The Trump administration for months has hinted that the U.S. would take steps to punish China for failing to prevent the deadly virus, which was first observed in the Chinese city of Wuhan, from spreading around the globe…” (Macias, 7/15).

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The Hill: Obama issues warning on U.S. coronavirus response: ‘Virus doesn’t care about spin or ideology’ (Budryk, 7/15).

The Hill: Public health groups denounce new Trump move sidelining CDC (Weixel, 7/16).

New York Times: Chief Vaccine Scientist Will Not Be Forced to Disclose Pharmaceutical Stocks (Weiland, 7/15).

Washington Post: Susan Rice sees dual pandemics of coronavirus and racism as national security threat (Haines, 7/15).

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Financial Times: Bill and Melinda Gates lobby U.S. Congress for tougher virus action
“The $46bn Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pushing the U.S. Congress for tougher action to stop the spread of coronavirus to counter what its founders see as an anti-science stance by the Trump administration. Speaking to the Financial Times, Melinda Gates, who leads the foundation with her husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said she was ‘deeply’ disappointed by the stance of President Donald Trump over Covid-19 and anticipated repercussions in the upcoming election…” (Tett/Talman, 7/15).

The Guardian: Ignoring effects of Covid-19 on women could cost $5tn, warns Melinda Gates
“The failure of leaders to take into account the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women, and their roles in lessening its harm, will mean a long, slow recovery that could cost the world economy trillions of dollars, Melinda Gates has warned. Even a four-year delay in programs that promote gender equality, such as advancing women’s digital and financial inclusion, would wipe a potential $5tn (£4tn) from global GDP by 2030. ‘As policymakers work to protect and rebuild economies, their response must account for the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women, and the unique roles women will have to play in mitigating the pandemic’s harm,’ Gates said in a paper published on Wednesday…” (Ford, 7/15).

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The Atlantic: Fauci: ‘Bizarre’ White House Behavior Only Hurts the President
“Anthony Fauci isn’t about to quit, despite the White House’s clumsy attempts to stain his public image. More so now than at any other point in their uneasy partnership, it seems that if President Donald Trump wants to be rid of Fauci, he’ll need to fire him. In recent days especially, the White House has stepped up efforts to discredit Fauci, a move he describes as ‘bizarre.’ … He described the White House attacks against him as ‘nonsense’ and ‘completely wrong.’ He also seemed dismayed that they are coming at a time when COVID-19 is surging across the country, deaths are once again rising, and Americans remain deeply confused about how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe…” (Nicholas/Yong, 7/15).

Wall Street Journal: White House Distances Itself From Trade Adviser’s Criticism of Dr. Fauci
“A senior White House trade adviser criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, in an opinion column that the White House said wasn’t authorized. In the column published Tuesday night in USA Today, Peter Navarro wrote, ‘Dr. Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.’ He added that he listens to Dr. Fauci ‘with skepticism and caution.’ Some administration officials have ramped up their public and private criticism of Dr. Fauci in recent days, but the White House on Wednesday distanced itself from Mr. Navarro’s column…” (Restuccia, 7/15).

Additional coverage of the tension between Fauci and the Trump administration is available from The Hill (2) (3) (4), New York Times, POLITICO, and Washington Post.

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ProPublica: Trump Is Donating Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them
“…White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies and donate them abroad, according to internal documents, emails seen by or described to ProPublica and interviews with officials. One USAID official recently referred to the project in an internal email as ‘the POTUS donation of ventilators,’ using an acronym for president of the United States. But the effort has been marked by dysfunction, with little clarity on how countries are chosen or how the ventilators are allocated. … The administration’s decisions on ventilator distribution appear to have little correlation to the number of coronavirus deaths or infections in a country. … The administration has said it is spending more than $200 million on donating ventilators, a little less than one-fifth of its promised coronavirus-related foreign aid. But public health experts said that without carefully assessing each country’s health care expertise — and following through to ensure hospitals can keep the machines running — the donations could go to waste or even risk patients’ lives…” (Torbati, 7/15).

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CBS News: WHO seeks ‘honest evaluation’ of coronavirus response under pressure from Trump
“Facing intense criticism from the Trump administration over its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization has tapped two former world leaders to deliver an ‘honest evaluation’ of the what went right, and what could have been done better as the WHO grappled with the spread of COVID-19. Former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark and former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will co-chair the independent ‘preparedness and response’ panel, which will eventually make suggestions on how the global health agency can better address emergencies. Clark spoke this week with CBS News about the panel’s mandate, and the challenges facing the world’s premier health organization…” (Falk, 7/15).

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POLITICO: The coronavirus recovery plan that von der Leyen built
“Ursula von der Leyen’s first public announcement of a massive response to the coronavirus crisis was made in a reflexive panic, on a Saturday night in late March, as she came under a barrage of criticism from Italy, where daily Covid-19 deaths were just hitting their peak. The European Commission president was already under severe pressure over the E.U.’s haphazard initial response to the health crisis — even though much of the blame lay with national capitals that reacted unilaterally, slamming borders shut and refusing even to come to Italy’s assistance when Rome initially requested help with protective gear. … If the E.U. leaders ultimately give their blessing, von der Leyen will get credit for leading the E.U. to a threshold moment. Some supporters of the plan view it as potentially a Hamiltonian leap forward in fiscal integration, akin to the establishment of U.S. federal debt. But if von der Leyen’s proposal becomes embroiled in lengthy disagreements, or if a version of her plan is approved but ends up badly managed, or minimally effective, she will be the one who will bear the responsibility…” (Herszenhorn et al., 7/16).

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VOA News: Vaccinations Against Preventable Childhood Diseases in ‘Alarming Decline,’ U.N. Says
“There has been an alarming decline in the number of children getting vaccinated for such preventable diseases as diphtheria, tetanus, and measles, the United Nations warned Wednesday. The U.N.’s World Health Organization and UNICEF blame the decline on the disruption of routine health care caused by the coronavirus pandemic. … But even before the pandemic hit, the agencies said, progress in vaccinating children was slipping. They said nearly 14 million children did not get shots against measles and pertussis in 2019…” (7/15).

Additional coverage of the U.N. agencies’ statement is available from BBC, Reuters, U.N. News, and VOA News.

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New Humanitarian: COVID-19 changed the world. Can it change aid, too?
“…The aid industry, as we know it today, was shaped by this common collective experience of war. … Independent and neutral institutions would go into a troubled country, ideally with skilled professionals, and not only bring shelter and deliver food, but offer solace — humanitarians were the ones who would sit down with people, have tea, help. … But the means by which the system has gone about achieving those goals — premised largely on using Western- and Northern-dominated institutions to dictate how poorer countries solve their problems — have been objectionable to many. Voices are now being raised within the aid sector and beyond, amplifying those objections, revolting against top-down power structures and demanding change. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic has flipped aid’s business model — deploying hundreds of outside experts to move in and assist — on its head. The question my students will need to consider as they embark on their careers in the humanitarian sector — and as my colleagues and I continue ours — is: Does this moment demand a new conception of ‘aid’ altogether? And can the industry finally acknowledge that while the premise upon which it was founded remains noble and necessary, the structure itself risks being rendered obsolete?…” (Alexander, 7/16).

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AFRICA

AFP: In Nigeria, African researchers blaze a trail in virus fight (Bouillon, 7/16).

Financial Times: Teamwork helps Zimbabwe pupils shut out of class by Covid-19 (Bell, 7/15).

Health24: 73 countries are running out of HIV medication due to pandemic. Is SA on that list? (7/15).

NPR: A COVID-19 Success Story In Rwanda: Free Testing, Robot Caregivers (Beaubien, 7/15).

PBS NewsHour: Ebola finally defeated, Congo faces COVID-19 (Villamizar, 7/15).

Reuters: Nigerian virus hunters run hard race against COVID-19’s spread (George et al., 7/14).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: In African villages, coronavirus sparks fears of a spike in malaria deaths (Hayden, 7/15).

VOA News: South Africa Lockdown Deprives Needy Children of Food (Puglisi, 7/15).

ASIA

AFP/Al Jazeera: Bangladesh arrests hospital owner over fake coronavirus results (7/16).

CNBC: How Taiwan beat the coronavirus (Farr/Gao, 7/15).

Devex: In India, prime minister’s relief fund for COVID-19 jeopardizes NGO sector (Byatnal, 7/16).

NPR: India Sets Record For Its Daily Coronavirus Count (Frayer, 7/16).

NPR: Indonesia Stumbles As Coronavirus Cases Surge (Sullivan, 7/16).

NPR: Melbourne, On COVID-19 Lockdown, Reports Record Case Count (Neuman, 7/16).

Reuters: Tokyo declares coronavirus red alert as situation ‘rather severe’ (Park/Kim, 7/14).

Reuters: Afghanistan faces ‘grim’ economic outlook as pandemic wipes out growth: World Bank (Sediqi/Greenfield, 7/15).

EUROPE

Bloomberg: European Stocks Jump to One-Month High on Vaccine Optimism (Jagadeesh/Galouchko, 7/15).

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

Reuters: Brazil’s Bolsonaro, infected with COVID-19, touts unproven drug (Rochabrun et al., 7/15).

Washington Post: Barbados wants you to work from its beaches during the pandemic (Taylor, 7/16).

MIDDLE EAST

AP: As Israel virus cases surge, government weighs new lockdown (Zion, 7/16).

NORTH AMERICA

AP: Confirmed U.S. virus cases rise amid new global restrictions (Tucker et al., 7/16).

The Atlantic: America Should Prepare for a Double Pandemic (Yong, 7/15).

MSN: The Biggest Coronavirus Hotspot No One Is Talking About (Hall, 7/15).

VICE: The U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Could Be 240,000 by November (Gilbert, 7/15).

Washington Post: Canada’s coronavirus performance hasn’t been perfect. But it’s done far better than the U.S. (Coletta, 7/15).

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Devex: Data insights into DFAT’s changing funding priorities
“This November will be the seventh anniversary of the merger between AusAID and [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)], but it is only now that the data is showing the impact of this shift. Devex has analyzed this data to bring you the key insights…” (Cornish, 7/15).

Devex: NGOs accuse government of misrepresenting DFID merger talks
“The United Kingdom’s NGO network has urged the government to ‘stop misrepresenting’ meetings it has had with charities about the coronavirus response as consultations on the upcoming development department merger. Bond, which represents over 400 internationally focused U.K. organizations, said there has been no consultation on the merger of the Department for International Development with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and that the government has ‘consistently conflated’ discussions about the pandemic response with meetings that have not happened…” (Worley, 7/16).

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AP: Chinese executives get ‘pre-test’ injections in vaccine race (McNeil et al., 7/16).

Devex: New report outlines ways businesses and governments can ‘flip that green switch’ (Cheney, 7/16).

HealthDay News: Lockdown Led to Less Sex, Lower Use of HIV-Preventing Drugs: Survey (Preidt, 7/14).

IPS: IPS Webinar: Gender Equality Crucial in ‘Building Back Better’ Post-COVID-19 (7/15).

NPR: Doctors Without Borders Responds To Charges Of ‘Racism’ From Its Staff (Aizenman, 7/15).

Scientific American: Second Coronavirus Strain May Be More Infectious — but Some Scientists Are Skeptical (Kwon, 7/16).

U.N. News: Our ‘new normal’ requires human contact, U.N. chief tells youth webinar on mental health (7/15).

U.N. News: Concerns and hopes of Yemenis at heart of U.N. plans for better future (7/15).

Vox: The White House claimed Trump is pro-LGBTQ. His policies show he isn’t (Burns, 7/15).

Xinhua: Cambodia sees 70 pct drop in malaria cases in H1, 2020 (7/15).

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The BMJ: Serious violations of health workers’ rights during pandemic
Julian Sheather, specialist adviser for ethics and human rights with the British Medical Association, and colleagues (7/14).

Devex: To enable UHC, close COVID-19 testing and gender gaps
Roopa Dhatt, executive director and co-founder of Women in Global Health, internal medicine physician, implementing partner and steering committee member of the Women Leaders in Global Health Conference, and member of the Advisory Council of Global Health 50-50; and Catharina Boehme, CEO of FIND and co-convener of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator Diagnostics Partnership (7/16).

Foreign Affairs: The Pandemic’s Toll on Women
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (7/15).

Forbes: Working With Other Countries To Fight The Coronavirus Pandemic Protects America’s National Interests
Eric A. Friedman, global health justice scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University; Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation; and Lawrence O. Gostin, university professor at Georgetown University and founding O’Neill chair in global health law (7/15).

The Hill: Amid rush for COVID-19 vaccine, preventable childhood disease risks grow
Steven A.N. Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of California, Irvine (7/15).

IPS: Covid-19 Cannot Be Defeated by a Divided World
Anis Chowdhury, adjunct professor at Western Sydney University & University of New South Wales (Australia), and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, former economics professor and United Nations assistant secretary-general for economic development (7/16).

Jakarta Post: How Trump, COVID-19 endanger sexual, reproductive health rights
Rita Widiadana, editor and program director at the Jakarta Post (7/15).

JAMA: Universal Masking to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Transmission — The Time Is Now
John T. Brooks, medical epidemiologist with the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the CDC; Jay C. Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC; and Robert R. Redfield, director of the CDC (7/14).

Project Syndicate: The Fastest Way Out of the Pandemic
Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; and Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO (7/15).

Project Syndicate: G20, Heal Thyself
Jeffrey D. Sachs, professor of sustainable development and professor of health policy and management at Columbia University and director of Columbia’s Center for Sustainable Development and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network (7/15).

Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Virus Non-Message
Editorial Board (7/15).

Washington Post: Fauci to White House: Telling the truth is in Trump’s interests
Greg Sargent, writer for the Plum Line blog at the Washington Post (7/15).

Washington Post: The international community must guarantee equal global access to a covid-19 vaccine
Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, and other country leaders (7/15).

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IntraHealth International: IntraHealth, Frontline Health Workers Coalition Urge U.S. Policymakers to Maintain WHO Ties
“IntraHealth International joins the Frontline Health Workers Coalition in urging U.S. policymakers to restore the U.S.’s affiliation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and to cease moving forward on terminating the relationship. On July 6, the Trump administration began the year-long process to officially terminate the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization. This decision threatens global health security and will impede the U.S. and other countries in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and other critical health needs…” (7/15).

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MFAN: The Development Finance Corporation at Six Months: Early Successes and Challenges
MFAN posted a virtual panel discussion examining the first six months of the new U.S. Development Finance Corporation. The panel features Rob Mosbacher, former president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Alix Peterson Zwane, CEO of the Global Innovation Fund; and Erin Collinson, director of policy outreach at the Center for Global Development (7/15).

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Atlantic Council’s “New Atlanticist”: The G20 needs to do more to address the human toll of COVID-19
Jeremy Mark, former senior communications adviser and speechwriter to the IMF management team (7/15).

Center for American Progress: Release: In COVID-19 Vaccine Research and Development, Governments and Manufacturers Must Prioritize Gender Equity (7/15).

ODI: Four ways to prevent the Sustainable Development Goals becoming a casualty of Covid-19 responses
Amina Khan, senior research officer at ODI’s Equity and Social Policy Programme (7/14).

World Economic Forum: COVID-19 amplifies inequality. Fight back with long-term thinking
Martina Björkman Nyqvist, executive director of the Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets and assistant professor with the Stockholm School of Economics, and colleagues (7/15).

World Politics Review: A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Still Far Off, but Questions of Fair Distribution Can’t Wait
Jeremy Youde, political scientist specializing in global health politics and dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Duluth (7/15).

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Aidspan: Global Fund Observer
Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has published Issue 383 of the ‘Global Fund Observer.’ The newsletter includes a commentary on the complexities of COVID-19 and the potential lasting impacts, as well as articles examining the fund’s ranking in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index, the fund’s survey on HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria service disruptions, and other topics (7/15).

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U.S. Department of State: New Humanitarian and Health Assistance Bolsters U.S. Leadership in Response to COVID-19
“…The Department of State and USAID are providing an additional $208 million in new humanitarian and health assistance to bolster our ongoing response efforts, helping the world’s most vulnerable overcome the devastation inflicted by this deadly virus. With today’s announcement, the State Department and USAID alone have committed more than $1.5 billion for the global COVID-19 response since the outbreak began…” (7/15).

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U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa: Press Release: The United States Provides Oxygen Support to South Africa
“The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an additional US$3.5 million (R59 million) to support the National Department of Health’s (NDoH) oxygen supply, demand, and reticulation strategy and their efforts to procure supplies and equipment needed for critical care beds. The funds will also be used to support emergency preparedness and planning efforts at the provincial level. … These activities are being funded through the United States’ Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act to support the global health response to COVID-19 and will be managed by USAID’s partner, Right to Care, which also manages some of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) activities…” (7/15).

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U.S. Department of State: Pan American Health Organization Transparency
“The United States government welcomes the Pan American Health Organization’s decision to initiate an independent review of its role in the Mais Medicos program, pursuant to which PAHO provided well over a billion dollars to Cuba. The United States and other key PAHO member states have actively worked with PAHO leadership to design this review into how Mais Medicos was initiated and operated. The review is designed to answer the questions that the U.S. government has raised…” (7/15).

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KFF: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker — Updated as of July 16, 2020
Data on country government actions in response to COVID-19 are included in the tracker (7/16).

Additional KFF COVID-19 resources on the global situation, as well as those focused on the response and impact within the U.S., are available here. KFF’s blog series “Coronavirus Policy Watch” is available here.

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