116th CONGRESS 2d Session |
Encouraging the international community to remain committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further spread of COVID–19 and urging renewed United States leadership and participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID–19 and prevent further deaths, and for other purposes.
May 14, 2020
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Coons, Mr. Udall, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Booker, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Casey, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Smith, Mr. King, Mr. Warner, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Carper) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
Encouraging the international community to remain committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further spread of COVID–19 and urging renewed United States leadership and participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID–19 and prevent further deaths, and for other purposes.
Whereas there is a rich history of coordinated global health collaboration and coordination, dating back to 1851, to strategically and effectively combat deadly diseases of the time, such as the spread of plague;
Whereas the United States has long been an active and critical leader in such global public health efforts, providing financial and technical support to multilateral institutions, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations;
Whereas international collaboration has led to a number of historic global health achievements, including the eradication of smallpox, the reduction of polio cases by 99 percent, the elimination of river blindness, the decline in maternal and child mortality, the recognition of tobacco as a health hazard, and countless others;
Whereas there has been bipartisan support in the United States to lead efforts to address global health needs, as evidenced by initiatives such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative;
Whereas, most recently, the United States led the global effort to stem the spread of Ebola, thereby avoiding a global pandemic and American deaths;
Whereas these bipartisan investments in global health have helped not only save countless lives around the world, but also at home in the United States;
Whereas an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) was first identified in December 2019, with a global pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020;
Whereas at least 82,400 individuals in the United States are known to have died due to COVID–19 as of May 13, 2020, and a long-term, sustainable solution will require international access to a vaccine;
Whereas the COVID–19 outbreak continues to place extreme pressure on health care systems and supply chains worldwide, impacting international travel, trade, and all other aspects of international exchanges, and requiring a coordinated global effort;
Whereas the interconnectivity of our globalized world means an infectious disease can travel around the world in as little as 36 hours;
Whereas United States Federal agencies have engaged in and supported certain research and clinical trial efforts into coronaviruses, which may yield potential discoveries related to vaccine candidates;
Whereas domestic and domestically supported vaccine candidates for COVID–19 only comprise a small fraction of the potential COVID–19 vaccine candidates undergoing studies worldwide;
Whereas only international collaboration and coordination can ensure equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable therapeutics and vaccines, thereby saving Americans and others around the world;
Whereas the United States has not yet joined “Solidarity”, an international clinical trial to rapidly identify effective treatments for COVID–19;
Whereas the United States has not yet joined the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an innovative global partnership which works to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks;
Whereas United States opposition to stronger international efforts to combat COVID–19 has created a rift within the Group of 20 and undermined such collective efforts and possible access for the United States to their successes;
Whereas, on April 24, 2020, the United States declined to participate in a virtual event led by a number of multilateral institutions, government leaders, and public health and industry leaders from around the world to accelerate new COVID–19 health technologies;
Whereas, on May 4, 2020, the United States declined to participate in a subsequent virtual summit led by the President of the European Commission, where nations around the world—excluding the United States—pledged more than $8,000,000,000 to quickly develop vaccines and treatment to fight COVID–19; and
Whereas, on June 4, 2020, the United Kingdom will host another virtual international summit on accelerating the development of a vaccine for COVID–19, including to support GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
(1) recognizes the historic leadership role of the United States in stemming global health crises in the past;
(2) commends the historic achievements of the international community in addressing global public health crises, such as the eradication of smallpox and dramatic progress in reducing cases of polio and Ebola;
(3) encourages the international community to remain committed to collaboration and coordination to mitigate and prevent the further spread of COVID–19;
(4) commends the promising research underway to develop COVID–19 therapies and a vaccine within the United States and with support from Federal agencies;
(5) acknowledges the vast international research enterprise and collaboration underway to study an expansive range of drug and vaccine candidates;
(6) urges renewed United States leadership and participation in any global efforts on therapeutics and vaccine development and delivery to address COVID–19 and prevent further American deaths; and
(7) calls on the United States Government to boost funding for, and strengthen collaboration with, key multilateral institutions at the forefront of responding to COVID–19 such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Solidarity trial.