Madonna pledges $1mn to help develop coronavirus vaccine

LOS ANGELES: Pop diva Madonna has pledged to support the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in order to help create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

The 61-year-old singer released a statement saying she was impressed by the foundation, owned by the billionaire philanthropist, which is working towards funding seven different research labs to find a cure for COVID-19.

“I’m joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation effort to find a drug that will prevent or treat COVID-19. We need this to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families. I’m talking about this: I am so impressed by the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator’s urgent efforts to find new or existing drugs that could effectively prevent or treat the disease,” Madonna said.

 

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accelerator initiative. Please join us!! Lets put a stop to Covid19! We need to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families. 🌎 🌍 @gatesfoundation #wellcome @mastercard @chanzuckerberginitiative 🎥 by @ncrfilms

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Apr 3, 2020 at 8:05am PDT

“Harnessing the strength and knowledge of the research community, the Accelerator’s critical scientific progress will inform how we end this pandemic and prevent future impact from the virus. I send enormous gratitude and strength to the courageous first responders, medical professionals and scientists who are protecting our communities, those suffering and our most vulnerable,” she further said in the statement.

The announcement comes a fortnight after Madonna called the coronavirus a “great equaliser”. The music icon had said the virus doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor.

“That’s the thing about COVID-19. It doesn’t care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell,” she said. The singer has previously cancelled two of her concerts in Paris due to the ongoing pandemic.