White House hosts global Covid summit as Biden marks 1 million Americans dead from virus

‘We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before’

The White House will host world leaders for another global Covid-19 summit to urge preparedness for the next pandemic, as the US passed the grim milestone of 1 million American deaths from the coronavirus.

In a statement on Thursday, President Joe Biden said each of the million dead represented “an irreplaceable loss ... leaving behind a family, a community, and a nation forever changed”.

“As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember. We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before,” he said, adding that it is “critical” for Congress to “sustain” such resources by passing a supplemental Covid-19 funding bill.

A White House official told The Independent that Mr Biden would be ordering US flags to half-staff as a mark of respect for the million American lives that have been lost since the pandemic began in 2020.

The commemoration of the pandemic’s death toll comes as the White House is set to host world leaders from across the globe for the second global Covid-19 summit.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on plans for the event said Mr Biden would “address” attendees, which the official said will include “partners from around the world including governments, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, businesses, and civil society leaders”.

At least 10 world leaders are set to speak at the event, including Vice President Kamala Harris, who the official said would deliver remarks focused on “the devastating impacts of Covid on Americans and the steps we're taking to manage the threat of new variants” and “call on the international community to continue to step up and take action to manage the current threat and prepare for future threats”.

Other top US officials set to speak include Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, US Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha, and Deputy National Security Adviser Dalip Singh.

The official said the administration has “three priorities” for the event — preventing complacency, preventing more deaths, and preventing future pandemics.

“We have made great progress since the last summit but the pandemic is not over and now is the time to continue to respond and also prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic,” said the official, who added that the summit’s “overarching purpose” is to “redouble our efforts to control Covid-19” and “ensure the world is prepared for the ... next pandemic”.

“The pandemic is not over ... we need funding both at home and from countries and other stakeholders to get more shots into arms and other vital life saving resources to the world, so the summit will focus on securing new resources and policy commitments to control COVID in 2022,” the official said, adding that the administration has already secured $3.1 billion in new funding commitments that will be announced on Thursday.

“We've been really heartened by the responses that we've gotten from all over the world,” the official said.