As a result of globalization, the nature of infectious diseases has changed from being simply a public health problem to a now global threat, with impacts on a wide range of sectors, including the economy and security. The U.S., formerly a leader in cooperation on health issues, is now in conflict with China and adopting a non-cooperative stance, but there are still avenues left to Europe, Japan, and other cooperating countries to address the problem of ending the virus and equitably distributing the vaccine.