With official withdrawal looming, collaboration on global health issues was more difficult. Biden faces a challenging road to re-establish ties — and a U.S. leadership role.
The country said it discovered a virus mutation that can spread to humans. Danish officials are concerned it could impact the body's ability to form antibodies.
Here are the positions of the two candidates on issues ranging from the Mexico City policy (involving abortion services) to refugees to membership in the World Health Organization.
Europe has been battling rising case counts, setting a record last week for new cases reported. Spain and France surpassed the 1 million case mark within hours of each other.
Europe's cases surged by 36% compared with the prior week. Across Europe, many countries are trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus but avoid imposing a national lockdown.
The Chinese foreign ministry said it took this step "to uphold the concept of a shared community of health for all and to honor its commitment to turn COVID-19 vaccines into a global public good."
A Trump administration spokesman says Washington will continue to engage the rest of the world in vaccine development but won't be "constrained" by the "corrupt" World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he fears that without global cooperation ensuring equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, some countries could resort to hoarding.
Vaccine candidates are in advanced clinical trials, and WHO's director-general expresses hope they will be effective. But until then, he said, the world is reliant on "the basics" of disease control.
Researchers say airborne transmission is possible, especially in cramped indoor settings, but it's unclear how much it contributes to the spread. Here's how to lower your risks, just in case.
In a letter to the U.N., the president said the United States will terminate its relationship with the World Health Organization effective July 6, 2021. He was met with a barrage of criticism.
Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over."
Less than a month after President Trump vowed to stop U.S. funding, Germany promised to give more than half a billion dollars and France pledged $100 million to a WHO research center in Lyon.
"The world is in a new and dangerous phase," WHO's director-general says. "Many people are understandably fed up with being at home ... but the virus is still spreading fast."
That's the word some doctors used for a World Health Organization statement. At issue: 1) How many people are infected with COVID-19 but show no symptoms? and 2) Can asymptomatic people infect others?
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to its knees, says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. He says the global body requires more enforcement mechanisms and more "appetite to bite."
On Friday, President Trump said he would sever ties — and funding — to the World Health Organization because of its relationship with China. On Monday, WHO offers its first official response.
So far, there is no seasonal pattern to coronavirus outbreaks, the WHO's Dr. Margaret Harris says. Lockdowns may not be necessary, she says, but infections rise when restrictions are relaxed rapidly.
The WHO cited a scientific study published last week suggesting that proposed COVID-19 drug hydroxychloroqine may do more harm than good in halting its study to review data.
The analysis from Columbia University focused on the period from March 15 to May 3, when states and counties implemented "measures enforcing social distancing and restricting individual contact."
In his letter threatening to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization and halt all funding, Trump made a number of charges about WHO's handling of the coronavirus crisis.
By not inviting Taiwan to its health assembly, the World Health Organization kept out "scientific expertise on pandemic disease" and "damaged the WHO's credibility," the secretary of state said.
The 73rd annual World Health Assembly, which begins Monday, will be held virtually for the first-time ever. It will also be focused on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
