Vice President Kamala Harris urged global leaders in a virtual speech at the United Nations on Monday to begin preparing 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 said.
Harris, in her second virtual speech to the global body since becoming vice president, outlined how the Biden administration believes other countries should focus their attention.
Those initiatives include increasing capacity for personal protective equipment, vaccines and test kit manufacturing, improving accessibility to health care and investing in science, health workers and the well-being of women.
She said that although the world learned a lot over the past year responding to the COVID-19 crisis, this is not a time to rest easy.
Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by President Biden, speaks Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the White House in Washington. AP Photo/Evan Vucci“We have been reminded that the status quo is not nearly good enough, and that innovation is indeed the path forward,” Harris said.
President Biden is also expected to talk about how his administration has responded to the pandemic when he addresses Congress on Wednesday evening.
The initiatives Kamala Harris reportedly plans to outline include increasing capacity for personal protective equipment, vaccines and test kit manufacturing, among other measures. AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinHarris addressed a UN Commission on the Status of Women in March.
