US to convene foreign ministers on COVID-19 next week, pledges to talk vaccine equity

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WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday he would convene a virtual meeting of foreign ministers from around the globe to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic next week, pledging to work to address global inequalities in access to vaccines.

“Despite progress in worldwide vaccination, we are not where we need to be,” Blinken said in a statement announcing the meeting on Nov. 10.

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It follows a virtual summit of world leaders President Joe Biden convened on Sept. 22, when he pledged to buy 500 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to donate to other countries.

The United States, where people are being offered booster vaccine shots ahead of winter, has been under pressure to share more of its vaccine supply with the rest of the world.

“We will discuss efforts to accelerate toward vaccine equity and impact,” Blinken said of the foreign ministers’ summit. — Reuters