After backlash on U.S. silence over India’s COVID crisis and the Biden administration finally stepping on the pedal to rush help, Vice President Kamala Harris is to address the UN virtually on April 26, advocating world leaders prepare now for the next pandemic. “At the same time that the world works to get through this pandemic, we also know that we must prepare for the next,” Harris is to say, according to excerpts of the speech obtained by The Associated Press. The Vice President, according to the excerpts, will call for increased capacity for personal protective equipment and vaccine and test manufacturing as well as improved accessibility to health systems, investing in science, health workers and the well-being of women. The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will also make remarks at the virtual event.
