Harris to tell UN Body it’s Time to Prep for Next Pandemic

April 26, 2021by Aamer Madhani, Associated Press
Harris to tell UN Body it’s Time to Prep for Next Pandemic
In this Friday, April 23, 2021, file photo, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the IBEW Training Center in Concord, N.H. Harris will make the case before United Nations members on Monday, April 26, 2021, that now is the time for global leaders to begin putting the serious work into how they will respond to the next global pandemic. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will make the case before United Nations members on Monday that now is the time for global leaders to begin putting the serious work into how they will respond to the next global pandemic.

The virtual address, Harris’ second to a U.N. body since her inauguration, will come as the United States makes progress on vaccinating the public and much of the world struggles to acquire vaccines. 

“At the same time that the world works to get through this pandemic, we also know that we must prepare for the next,” Harris will say, according to excerpts of the speech obtained by The Associated Press. The speech will be co-hosted by U.N. permanent representatives of Argentina, Japan, Norway and South Africa.

The Biden administration will mark its first 100 days in office this week. President Joe Biden is scheduled to address Congress on Wednesday and is certain to highlight the headway his administration has made in responding to the worst public health crisis in the U.S. in more than a century. 

Harris, according to the excerpts, will broadly outline how the administration thinks the U.S. and other nations should consider focusing their attention. The steps include improving accessibility to health systems, investing in science, health workers and the well-being of women, and surging capacity for personal protective equipment and vaccine and test manufacturing.

Harris says much has been learned over the last year about pandemic preparedness and response but that it would be unwise to rest easy

“We have been reminded that the status quo is not nearly good enough, and that innovation is indeed the path forward,” Harris says.

Biden’s ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is also scheduled to deliver remarks at Monday’s virtual event and intends to call on nations to “build the pandemic preparedness architecture for the future.” 

“The takeaway from this past year is clear: The world barely withstood this pandemic,” Thomas-Greenfield says in excerpts of her prepared remarks. “We must be ready for the next.”

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

A+
a-
  • geopolitics
  • global pandemics
  • health
  • Kamala Harris
  • United Nations
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Health

    Kennedy Picks for CDC Panel Proudly Boast Vaccine Skepticism

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen eight new members for the panel of experts that advises... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen eight new members for the panel of experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, including a number of well-known vaccine skeptics. The panel, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,... Read More

    Keep HSAs in the One Big, Beautiful Bill

    Last month, House Republicans narrowly passed a comprehensive budget bill by a single vote, legislation that included some of the most significant... Read More

    Last month, House Republicans narrowly passed a comprehensive budget bill by a single vote, legislation that included some of the most significant changes to our health care system in over a decade. The Senate has promised to amend this "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act." One thing they shouldn’t... Read More

    Arizona Officials Confirm Measles Outbreak in Navajo County

    Health officials in Arizona say there are four linked measles cases in Navajo County, marking the state's first outbreak this... Read More

    Health officials in Arizona say there are four linked measles cases in Navajo County, marking the state's first outbreak this year. The U.S. logged 122 more cases of measles last week — but only four of them in Texas — while the outbreaks in Pennsylvania and Michigan officially... Read More

    June 10, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    New York Lawmakers Pass Medical Aid in Dying Bill

    ALBANY — The New York State Senate approved a bill on Monday that would allow people facing terminal diagnoses to... Read More

    ALBANY — The New York State Senate approved a bill on Monday that would allow people facing terminal diagnoses to end their lives on their own terms, which the bill’s proponents say would grant a measure of autonomy to New Yorkers in their final days. The... Read More

    ‘Snack’ Your Way to Health!

    WASHINGTON — It has been well-reported that we’re supposed to get around 150 minutes of cardio exercise each week. But... Read More

    WASHINGTON — It has been well-reported that we’re supposed to get around 150 minutes of cardio exercise each week. But what if that number, while still useful, wasn’t the only way to boost your health? What if something as small as a 20-second stair sprint could... Read More

    ‘Most Favored Nation’ Drug Pricing Wouldn't Actually Save Medicaid Money

    Congressional Republicans recently advanced a sweeping budget bill that exceeds their initial savings goal, aiming to reduce federal spending by... Read More

    Congressional Republicans recently advanced a sweeping budget bill that exceeds their initial savings goal, aiming to reduce federal spending by nearly $1 trillion. A large share of those reductions would come from changes to Medicaid, including new work requirements, copay adjustments and stricter eligibility checks. During... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top