WHO special session seeking "pandemic treaty" amid Omicron concerns

Photo taken on March 30, 2021 shows an exterior view of the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Chen Junxia)

COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response. The best way we can address them is with a legally binding agreement between nations, an accord forged from the recognition that we have no future but a common future, said World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.