The United States on Wednesday said that it will not join the global effort to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine as it does not want to be constrained by multilateral groups like the World Health Organization (WHO).

The decision means that the US is isolating itself from 150 countries that are setting up the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX, an initiative working to provide worldwide access to an effective vaccine.

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“The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” White House spokesperson Judd Deere said in a statement.

The statement also said that vaccine and therapeutic research, development, and trials have advanced at unprecedented speed to deliver groundbreaking, effective medicines driven by data and safety and not held back by government red tape.

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US is still struggling to contain the outbreak is the worst-hit with over 6.09 million COVID-19 cases and over 185,000 deaths. As a part of Operation Warp Speed, the country has two potential vaccines that are expected to start its Phase-3 trials by mid-September.

“This President will spare no expense to ensure that any new vaccine maintains our own FDA’s gold standard for safety and efficacy, is thoroughly tested, and saves lives,” Judd Deere said.

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Earlier, Trump had accused WHO of mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic when it emerged in China, and of failing to make “greatly needed reforms.” Subsequently, in July, the Trump administration notified Congress and the United Nations that the US is formally withdrawing from the WHO.