Boris Johnson will describe the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as the “most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes” as he calls on nations to “pull together” in response to the pandemic.
The British Prime Minister is expected to tell an online pledging conference – co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations – that the sooner states share their expertise the faster scientists will succeed in defeating the disease.
It comes as Mr Johnson revealed he feared he would not live to see his baby son Wilfred born when he battled Covid-19 in intensive care last month.
He will tell Monday’s conference, which aims to bring in more than £6.6bn (€7.5bn) in funding, that the race to develop a vaccine is “not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”.
“It’s humanity against the virus – we are in this together and together we will prevail,” he is expected to say.
Coronavirus has claimed more than 246,000 lives around the world, according to analysis by John Hopkins University.
