美国国务院
发言人办公室
华盛顿特区
2022年2月14日
安东尼·布林肯国务卿在COVID-19线上会议中发表讲话
 
布林肯国务卿：大家好。早上好、下午好、晚上好。谢谢你们，谢谢大家，感谢你们从世界各地参加会议。
我们此次会议，我认为，是在抗击COVID-19的一个关键时刻举行的。一方面，奥密克戎（Omicron）变种病毒在很多地方正在减弱，归功于现代科学的创新力，我们拥有能够拯救生命的疫苗；每天都有数百万人接种疫苗，而且这在不小的程度上归功于你们很多人从这场疫情一开始就已经采取的种种措施和努力。
与此同时，我们都知道这场疫情还远远没有结束的现实。如你们所知，世界卫生组织设定了到今年9月为各个国家、各个收入水平的70%的人接种疫苗的目标。根据我们现在的进度，我们还远远达不到我们的目标。最近的一项分析发现，尽管在较高、中等和高水平收入国家有近80%的人已接种疫苗，但这个数字在低收入国家却不到11%。上个月，世界卫生组织警告说，全世界有近90个国家的进度达不到70%的目标。这意味着数十亿人仍易于感染COVID，而且全世界仍易于遭受新的变种病毒的影响，它们可能比我们迄今为止所经历过的变种病毒更具杀伤力和传染性。
因此，我们必须做出我们各国已在进行的所有努力和贡献，并加倍努力而且更好地协调，以使我们能够实现我们的目标，并在今年终止COVID-19疫情的严重期。这正是我们今天集会的原因。
我们今天发起的全球行动计划（Global Action Plan）将应对国际社会所确定的在终止这场疫情的斗争中有待消除的最大的障碍。它是我们迄今为止最明确的路线图，阐明了六项关键的努力方针，如果同时推进，将帮助我们实现拜登总统在去年举行的全球COVID-19 峰会（Global COVID-19 Summit）上所提出的目标：现在就在全世界接种疫苗并拯救生命，并让全世界准备好应对今后的疫情。它在制定时的明确宗旨是将一个国家特有的实力与有迫切需求的领域匹配起来。或许是在物流和运营方面。也可能是拥有一个强大的制药产业。
我们现在的挑战是将这些能力与它们能为最多的人带来最大惠益的领域联系起来。我们找到了差距，而且正在弥补这些差距。这正是全球行动计划的宗旨。请允许我简要阐述一下每项努力方针。
首先，也是最为重要的，我们必须继续更加迅速地为更多的人接种疫苗。这意味着通过在世界各地扩大获取有效疫苗的渠道来消除不平等差距。但我们知道，单凭增加供给不足以把疫苗接种给民众。我们还必须解决最后阶段的难题，例如获取用于运送疫苗的冷藏技术。日本在这个领域展现了领导力，为大约60个国家提供了“最后阶段支持”（Last One Mile Support）项目。我们必须继续推动这一进展。
其次，我们必须加强疫苗及其他关键物资的供应链，例如注射器、检测盒和治疗手段。这场疫情凸显了它们的脆弱性。没有这些物资，我们就无法达到世卫组织设定的目标。
第三，我们必须解决导致对疫苗缺乏信心的信息差距。在有些情况下，是恶劣行为者在散布误导信息和虚假信息。在另一些场合，是缺少说明疫苗安全有效的清晰信息。我们可以通过向当地人发布有针对性的信息，提供明确的指导，抵制虚假信息，提高对疫苗的信心。
第四，我们需要给予医护人员更多支持，包括提供疫苗接种、装备和培训。从疫情一开始，他们就一直站在第一线，冒着自己的生命危险救护他人。
第五，我们必须让COVID-19患者更方便地得到医护和治疗手段，因为结束疫情不仅意味着保护人们不感染病毒，也意味着帮助挽救患者的生命。
第六，也是最后一点，我们必须展望未来，为下一次紧急情况加强全球健康安全。其中一个方面是，要让防疫准备和反应工作得到可持续的资金，这包括使国际机构具备充分资金，以及世界银行的一项专门用于提高预防、发现和应对未来威胁能力的新资金。我要赞扬印度尼西亚运用它今年在20集团的领导地位推进我们的这一努力。
再次感谢与会各位支持全球行动计划，并通过具体承诺而为协调这项努力发挥带头作用。我们今天的工作将帮助奠定下次全球COVID-19峰会的基础，拜登总统将于今年春末主持这个峰会。
就美国而言，我们将继续通过疫苗全球获取机制COVAX向全球提供疫苗。至今，我们已经免费和不附加任何政治条件地发送了超过4.35亿剂安全、有效的疫苗，这是我们要在年底捐助12亿剂疫苗的总体承诺的一部分。我们的最新捐助包括向非洲疫苗采购信托机制（African Vaccine Acquisition Trust）捐助500万剂强生（Johnson & Johnson）疫苗；这个非洲联盟（African Union）的新创机制旨在帮助较小国家作为一个整体协商采购疫苗。
除了捐助疫苗以外，美国还承诺继续参与所有六个方面的努力，并为增进供应链的健强性和加强全球健康安全发挥主导协调作用。
我们在各项努力中，致力于与我们的伙伴密切合作，因为这场疫情是一个没有任何国家可以单独化解的危机。我们知道通过共同努力是有可能的。只需看看乌干达最近的成果。
11月初，乌干达只有14%的成人接种了第一针疫苗。后来它发动大规模团队努力。乌干达政府领导了通过数以百计医护人员进行的大范围接种运动。他们用世卫组织开发的工具跟踪进展。有影响力的社区领袖抨击那些误导信息。全球各地捐助者提供了疫苗。到12月底，乌干达将近二分之一的成人接种了第一针疫苗——仅在六个星期内接种率从14%上升到47%。
这就是当我们所有人——政府、国际组织、公民社会、医护人员、个体公民——同心协力时可以产生的结果。以这种程度的协调、合作和决心，我们能够而且我们必将终止这场疫情。
所以再次感谢各位今天的出席，以及将在未来我们共同努力，共同前进，共同协调时作出的努力。我期待着对话，更期待着这项工作，并在今年最终超越COVID-19。非常感谢。
欲查看原稿内容:  
https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-a-virtual-covid-19-global-action-meeting/

Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Virtual COVID-19 Global Action Meeting
REMARKS
ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
FEBRUARY 14, 2022
SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Greetings, everyone.  Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining from wherever you are around the world.
We are meeting at what is, I think, a decisive moment in the fight against COVID-19.  On the one hand, the Omicron variant is receding in many places, and thanks to the ingenuity of modern science, we’re armed with lifesaving vaccines; millions of people are getting vaccinated each day, and that’s in no small part due to the measures and efforts that many of you have undertaken, stretching back to the beginning of this pandemic.
At the same time, we all know the reality that the pandemic is far from over.  As you know, the World Health Organization set the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of people in every country across every income level by this September.  At the rate we’re going, we are well below our target.  One recent analysis found that while nearly 80 percent of people are vaccinated in upper, middle, and high-income countries, the number falls to less than 11 percent in low-income countries.  And last month, the World Health Organization warned that nearly 90 countries from around the world are not on track to reach the 70 percent goal.  That means billions of people remain vulnerable to COVID, and the world remains vulnerable to new variants, which may be even more lethal and transmissible than the ones we’ve experienced so far.
So we need to take all efforts and contributions that our countries are already making and intensify them and better coordinate them so that we can achieve our targets and end the acute phase of COVID-19 this year.  That’s why we’re getting together today.
The Global Action Plan that we’re launching today takes on what the international community has identified as the biggest barriers left in the fight to end this pandemic.  It’s our clearest roadmap yet, laying out six key lines of effort that, when pursued together, will help us achieve the goals laid out by President Biden at the Global COVID-19 Summit last year: vaccinate the world, save lives now, prepare the world against future pandemics.  It’s designed explicitly to match a country’s unique strengths with pressing areas of need.  Maybe that’s logistics and operations.  Maybe it’s a strong pharmaceutical industry.
Our challenge now is to connect these capacities with where they can do the most good for the most people.  We’ve identified gaps, and we’re closing gaps.  That’s what the Global Action Plan plans to do.  Let me briefly lay out each line of effort.
First, and most important, we’ve got to continue to get more shots into more arms more quickly.  That means addressing equity gaps by increasing access to effective vaccines around the world.  But we know that increasing supply by itself is not enough to turn vaccines into vaccinations.  We must also solve last-mile challenges, like access to cooling technologies for vaccines in transit.  Japan has shown leadership in this area with its “Last One Mile Support” program to about 60 countries.  We’ve got to keep building on that progress.
Second, we must strengthen the supply chains for vaccines and other critical supplies, like syringes, test kits, treatments.  The pandemic has highlighted just how vulnerable they are.  We can’t hit the WHO target without these supplies.
Third, we’ve got to address the information gaps that lead to low confidence in vaccines.  In some cases, bad actors are spreading misinformation and disinformation.  In others, there’s a lack of clear information about how safe and effective the vaccines are.  By tailoring our message to local audiences, we can provide clear guidance, push back against disinformation, and increase vaccine confidence.
Fourth, we need to provide more support, including vaccinations, equipment, training to health care workers who have been on the front lines of this pandemic from the start, risking their own lives to save others.
Fifth, we’ve got to make it easier for COVID patients to access treatments and therapeutics, because ending the pandemic isn’t only about protecting people from the virus; it’s also helping save lives of those who get sick.
And sixth and finally, we have to look to the future and strengthen global health security for the next emergency.  Among other things, that means ensuring sustainable financing for pandemic preparedness and response, including well financed international institutions and a new fund at the World Bank that focuses specifically on providing for the capacity that we need to prevent, to detect, to respond to future threats.  And I want to commend Indonesia for using its leadership of the G20 this year to move us forward on this front.
Again, thank you to everyone in this meeting for embracing the Global Action Plan and for leading the coordination of this effort with concrete commitments.  Our work today will help lay the groundwork for the next Global COVID-19 Summit, which President Biden will host later this spring.
For our part, the United States will continue to provide vaccine doses around the world through COVAX.  To date, we’ve delivered over 435 million safe, effective vaccines free of charge with no political strings attached as part of our overall commitment to donate 1.2 billion doses by the end of the year.  This includes our latest donation of 5 million Johnson & Johnson doses to the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust, the innovative effort by the African Union to help smaller countries negotiate as a group for vaccine purchases.
Beyond our vaccine donations, the United States has committed to staying involved in all six lines of effort and playing a lead coordinating role on bolstering supply chain resilience and strengthening global health security.
In everything we do, we’ll seek to work closely with our partners, because this pandemic is the definition of a crisis that no country can solve alone.  We know it’s possible when we work together.  Just look at what Uganda recently accomplished.
In early November, only 14 percent of all Ugandan adults had received their first dose of the vaccine.  Then a major team effort commenced.  The Ugandan Government led a mass vaccination campaign, carried out by hundreds of health care workers.  They tracked their progress with a tool developed by the WHO.  Influential community leaders batted down misinformation.  Donors from around the world contributed doses.  And by late December, almost half of all adults in Uganda had received their first shot – from 14 to 47 percent in just six weeks.
That’s what’s possible when all of us – governments, international organizations, civil society, health care workers, individual citizens – work in unison.  With that level of coordination, partnership, and commitment, we can and we will end this pandemic.
So thanks again to everyone for joining today, and for the days ahead, as we work together, as we move together, as we coordinate together.  I’m looking forward to the conversation, and even more to this work, and to finally getting ahead of COVID-19 this year.  Thanks very much.