The US Health secretary Alex's are said the WHO had failed to obtain the information that the world needed which cost lives in the pandemic.

Have a listen to what he had to say in an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak.

At least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations with tremendous costs for the entire world.

We saw that WHO failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency.

When member states do not act in good faith, this cannot ever happen again.

The status quo is intolerable.

WHO must change and it must become far more transparent and far more accountable.

Well, the WHO hasn't responded to those allegations.

And although the U.S.

health secretary didn't name the country explicitly, previous comments do give us a clue.

Throughout the pandemic.

The U.S.

has called on China where the outbreak began, to be more transparent.

It's a message that we've heard again and again well today.

President Xi Jingping had this to say to critics alarm.

We have acted with openess, transparency and a responsibility.

We have provided information to the data show and irrelevant countries in the most timely fashion way have released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time.

We have shared control and the treatment experience with the world without reservation way have done everything in our power to support.

And it's a ceased countries you need Well, let's get more analysis from my China correspondent Steve McDonald.

He's saying China has been completely transparent.

He said that his country supplied the genome sequence as soon as it possibly could to the rest of the world, but then went on and said that China is going to pledge $2 billion in support for developing countries trying to tackle this emergency.

Chinese hospitals are gonna pair with 30 African countries is going to set up a sort of global response base in China for emergencies like this in the future, and also said that pushing again into the future that when the emergency calms down, there needs to be a sort of good look at the global response with its inefficiencies.

What went wrong?

Woman right with a view to completely overhauling the way all countries have handled this on the message was that really way have to be able to do better than this because there could be Mawr disease emergencies like this coming in the near future.

While all member states that's 194 of them of the W H O met virtually is leaders pushed for an independent review off the global handling of the pandemic.

Wh er chief Dr Tendrils was first to speak, urging countries to be open to scrutiny.

He made this announcement I will initiate on independent evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment to review experience gained and lessons learned, and to make recommendations to improve national and global pandemic preparedness and response.

While South Korea's President Moon Jae and also weighed in, he called for the W A tree to be given more legal powers to ensure countries report outbreaks and share data, I said Yeah, the village or we must update the wh show international health regulations and strengthen them with binding legal force.

A new infectious disease could emerge any time when we must be able to respond more quickly and effectively.

Infection related data should be shared among countries in a more transparent manner on an early warning system on a cooperation mechanism must be jointly established.

So it was there any message of unity during this meeting?

Well, here's our growth.

Global health correspondent Trillium is under with more Well, certainly for the 1st 4 hours or so was countries came online.

Onda most of them were really supportive of the W h.

O talked about global solidarity at the time of this pandemic.

Onda we do know that we've been hearing that there are calls international calls led by the U and and Australia for this independent inquiry into the wh ose handling off the crisis.

But all of this sort of goodwill kind of stopped when it came to the U.

S.

Is turn and you heard the U.

S.

Representative speaking there.

They were very, very critical of the World Health Organization.

They didn't name China, as you mentioned specifically, but talked about a member state that hasn't been completely transparent.

Eso this is really the World Health Organization stuck in the middle of a bigger geopolitical fight between China on the U.

S.

Now the U.

S.

Isn't by far the only country that is criticized China for not being transparent enough at the beginning and also has criticized the W H O for being too praising off China and also potentially declaring a pandemic to later not handling it as well as it should have done.

But really, this has become This is sort of clouded conversations today.

Like I said, most other countries were very supportive off the W h o.

But these this will be the headline, I think coming out of this meeting on moving forward, obviously, now there's going there.

That has to be some kind of cohesive action between the member states, the willingness to be transparent and share data when it comes to vice infections and deaths.

Is that likely to happen?

So South Korea, as you heard there, is calling for the W.

I try to be given more teeth.

More powers to actually get countries Teoh, give information, make sure countries give information around.

The World Health Organization is an advisory body, only it can't enforce its advice.

It can't force its way into countries to do independent investigations.

And that is what South Korea on also Australia have been pointing towards They're saying that that Wsj's mandate needs to be widened.

In order to do that, there will be discussion around whether that will be included going forward for the World Health Organization.

It's important to say that W.

H.

O did actually get into China in January on February off this year.

But it was invited by China and it was alongside Chinese officials while the country's air, saying now is that the WSJ should go completely independently so it can find out the source of outbreaks not just in China, for this outbreak, although that is what's needed more pressingly according to a number of countries, but also for future outbreaks.

And I don't think China is going to go for that.

But other countries will also have to agree that if outbreaks happen in their countries that they'll allow an independent team in on.

I think that is a sensitive issue, so I don't think anything's gonna move on that very quickly.

But it could be that they do make some sort of commitment to looking into that when the pandemic is over.

Before the W.

H.

O meeting got under way.

More than 140 world leaders and experts submitted this open letter calling for a people's vaccine that it's free and equally available to all nations.

Its main message is this.

Only people's vaccine, with equality and solidarity at its core, can predict protect even all of humanity and get our societies safely running again.

A bold international agreement cannot wait.

What one of the signatories to the letter is Professor Mariano Maza Cooter from University College London.

Let's have another is basically three demands in the letter.

The first is to ensure a mandatory worldwide sharing of all code in 19 related knowledge.

In other words, in an era where we talk about big data and collective intelligence, this is the moment to walk that talk.

And that does have to do with, for example, creating patent pools in really making sure that any knowledge is enforced in terms of the licensing capability so it doesn't remain secret.

The second is to establish a global and equitable rapid manufacturing and distribution plan so we can actually make it for everybody around the world, and that really has to be funded fully by rich nations.

Andi Third, we have to guarantee that the vaccine the diagnostics in the tests or provided for free of charge to everyone.

Scientists around the world are working at record speed to develop a vaccine for Cove in 19 that most experts tell us that it's unlikely one will be ready in the next year.

However, we have had a positive development today.

We heard the first U.

S company to carry out human trials into a cove in 19.

Vaccine has reported positive results.

Moderna is a biotech firm based in Cambridge.

In Massachusetts.

It says it's vaccine produced antibodies that could neutralize Corona virus.

Scientists say early results showed the levels of antibodies were similar to those in blood samples of people who had recovered from Cove in 19.

The company says the vaccine was generally safe and well tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with that scene in Pry It Moderna Infectious Disease vaccine.

Clinical studies for the BBC's Health and Science correspondent, James Gallagher cautions.

This is only phase one on the next stage of the trial, which begins in July, will determine whether people are protected against the virus, so there are still many challenges ahead.

His Moderna president, Steven Dr Steven Home, our goal is to have a vaccine available for broad distribution by urine early next year.

Now that the question, of course that's out there is as we start to build data over time.

And if we and other who's bill data that shows that the vaccine has a potential for benefit, that it's safe and the potential for efficacy, then of course, there are circumstances where the vaccine could be deployed.

High risk populations earlier, under something called number and see use authorization.

Really, though, that that's a decision that regulators, particularly FDA, happen.