Boris Johnson announces record £210m funding to find global coronavirus vaccine
The Prime Minister has committed £210million to helping develop a vaccine (PA)
2 min read
Boris Johnson has announced record funding of £210million to help find a coronavirus vaccine.
The Prime Minister is calling on other world leaders to collaborate and help speed up the defence against the Covid-19 outbreak.
He said: “While our brilliant doctors and nurses fight coronavirus at home, this record British funding will help to find a vaccine for the entire world. UK medics and researchers are at the forefront of this pioneering work.
“My call to every G20 country and to governments around the world is to step up and help us defeat this virus.
“In the meantime, I want to repeat to everyone that they should stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
The announcement of extra funding to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) came after a video call between G20 leaders, where they discussed international efforts to protect the global economy from the long-term effects of the crisis.
The £210million cash injection is the largest single contribution by any country to the international coalition to find a vaccine.
It also means the UK is now the biggest contributor, and puts the total amount of aid spent by the Government on the tackling the virus as £544million.
CEPI has announced it requires $2billion of additional funding to develop the crucial vaccine, meaning if all G20 governments pledged $100million of funding the shortfall would be met.
An additional package of UK aid announced on Thursday will go towards producing rapid tests for coronavirus.
International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “This UK Government support will be vital in efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine and treatments, which will ultimately help stop its spread around the world.
“We are backing experts, including in the UK, to find solutions as quickly as possible to this pandemic. This will ultimately help us to save lives in this country.”
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