Last Friday, July 18, it was announced that the United States has decided not to adopt new international standards for pandemic prevention and response. This declaration came from Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
This refusal pertains to amendments to the International Health Regulations, which were proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year. These measures had, in practice, already been implemented by WHO and various nations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the organization estimates claimed approximately 7 million lives. While WHO seeks to formalize these guidelines, the Donald Trump administration views them as an infringement on U.S. domestic sovereignty.
An official statement from the U.S. Health Secretary emphasized that «the proposed amendments… create conditions for information manipulation, propaganda, and censorship, which were already observed during the COVID pandemic. The U.S. is capable of effectively cooperating with other nations without jeopardizing our civil liberties, undermining our Constitution`s foundations, and preserving America`s precious sovereignty intact.»
Robert Kennedy Jr. is known for his stance against mass vaccination; for instance, last month he disbanded the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Donald Trump administration refrained from implementing widespread vaccination and stringent quarantine measures. Consequently, the U.S. became one of the leading countries globally in terms of coronavirus infections. Furthermore, immediately after assuming the presidency, Mr. Trump signed an executive order for the U.S. to withdraw from WHO.
