Why the U.S. won’t sign the WHO’s new pandemic response treaty

One contentious issue with the WHO’s pandemic agreement involves how many vaccines manufacturers in each country must share in exchange for access to genetic sequences to emerging infectious diseases.

On March 20, members of the World Health Organization adopted the world’s first pandemic agreement, following three years of “intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The U.S., however, did not participate, in part because of its intention to withdraw from the WHO.