UN member states demand 'equitable' access to future COVID-19 vaccines

The 193 members of the UN General Assembly on Monday adopted by consensus a resolution that calls for "equitable, efficient and timely" access to any future vaccines developed to fight coronavirus.

The resolution also highlights the "crucial leading role" played by the World Health Organization, which has faced criticism from Washington and others about its handling of the pandemic.

The resolution, which was drafted by Mexico and received US support, calls for strengthening the "scientific international cooperation necessary to combat COVID-19 and to bolstercoordination," including with the private sector.

There have been 2,437,170 reported coronavirus infections around the world, from which 167,594 people have died on Monday as per information given byofficial sources.

The United States has the most deaths of any country with 40,931.

Meanwhile,World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insists that the UN agency has not hidden from the US any information it had about the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have been warning from day one that this is a devil that everyone should fight," he says.

Italy is the second hardest-hit country, with 24,114 dead. Spain follows with 20,852, then France with 20,265 and Britain with 16,509.