The World Health Organization says the world is close to seeing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic but warned that inequalities in distributing a vaccine and other therapeutics could have deep economic and social consequences.

The scientific community applauded President Biden's decision to rejoin the World Health Organization and other global efforts designed to stop and prevent COVID-19.

"This is very good news for America, for WHO and the world," said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

"If we want to retain leadership in global health in the world, we can't not play with the rest of the world.".

The move had both symbolic and practical implications, said Jen Kates, senior vice president and director of Global Health & HIV Policy at the Henry J.

And symbolic, because the United States was the agency's largest funder and has long been a key player on the global health stage. .

In comments to that committee Thursday, Fauci said the United States would immediately recommit to being a full participant in WHO, fulfilling its financial obligations to the agency and stop withdrawing U.S.

The World Health Organization, founded in 1948 as an agency of the United Nations, consists of 194 member states and focuses on providing health care, coverage and protection against health emergencies.

A worker in protective coverings directs members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team on their arrival at the airport in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, Jan.

"That we are listed among the deadbeats in the world struck me as appalling, as someone who believes we could provide and should provide leadership in how to do global health well," Bloom said.

In the short term, the United States retracting its notice of withdrawal means that it will fulfill its financial obligations to the organization and stop its drawdown of U.S.-provided staff at WHO. .

“The U.S.’s commitment to strengthening the International Health Regulations not only reinforces the U.S.’s return to multilateralism, but is also important to rebuild the norms of acceptable conduct by countries in responding to global health security threats," said Alexandra Phelan, a member of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security.

Gostin said the WHO must be reformed to give it more power to monitor threats, including emerging viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, "to call out nations that don't cooperate with the global community or don't share their viruses." .

"Right now, the world and America has the WHO we deserve," he said

In addition to rejoining the WHO, Biden announced that the United States would participate in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and donate any surplus vaccines to the global effort. 

"Infectious diseases don't respect or care about borders," Kates said

While rejoining WHO, COVAX and the global health community is crucial, Bloom said  the U.S