The claim: President Biden is giving the World Health Organization control over U.S. health care and national sovereignty
The 75th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization began on May 22 with officials meeting in Switzerland to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of WHO in international epidemics.
But some online are claiming that something more nefarious is underway.
“Terrifying. The Biden administration is paving the way to transfer final control of the American health system and US national sovereignty to the World Health Organization,” read a Facebook post shared on May 12.
The post says the assembly will vote on the proposed amendments sent by the Biden administration in January that would allow the organization “to declare an” international health emergency “, nullifying the powers of nation states.”
The post generated over 250 shares in less than a day. Similar posts have amassed hundreds of interactions on Facebook and Instagram.
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But the claim is false.
The amendments referenced in the Facebook post are intended to strengthen a country’s reporting measures on public health events, experts told USA TODAY. They would not grant WHO any authority in the United States
USA TODAY has reached out to social media users who have shared a request for comment.
The amendments will not give WHO authority in the United States
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Biden administration drafted amendments to international health regulations in January, a legally binding agreement between 196 countries to detect and report public health events.
This agreement does not allow WHO to dictate national health policy or create binding laws in the United States or any nation, according to Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.
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The proposed changes to the agreement will not change that.
The amendments will substantially change procedures and speed up the process by which countries report health events, Thomas Bollyky, director of the Global Health Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, told USA TODAY. He will not give WHO authority in any country.
For example, countries may refuse “Collaborate with WHO expert teams” in the past, according to the Associated Press. The amendments “would try to have all signatories agree not to block such actions”.
The amendments do not list the legal consequences for countries not complying, the PA reported. The measures are simply intended to strengthen the WHO declaration and response to an international health emergency and allow other countries to better respond within their own borders, Bollyky said.
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The idea that the Biden administration alone could give WHO authority over health care or national sovereignty is out of place, Brian Abramson, adjunct professor of vaccine law at Florida International University, told USA TODAY. College of Law.
Biden has no power to subject any aspect of US governance to an international organization other than through a treaty ratified by a two-thirds vote in the Senate, Bollyky said.
Control of the health system is even more far-fetched. Healthcare in the United States is provided through a disjointed set of corporate and government entities that are not amenable to the governance of any organization, according to Abramson.
USA TODAY previously denied a claim that WHO vaccination guidelines on parental consent were applicable in the United States
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we evaluate FALSE the claim that Biden is giving WHO control over US health care and national sovereignty. The amendments proposed by the Biden administration aim to strengthen the WHO response to international health emergencies. It will not give WHO any authority in the United States
Our sources of fact-checking:
- Lawrence Gostin, May 19, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Teneille Brown, May 19, email exchange with USA TODAY
- World Health Organization, accessed May 19, 75th World Health Assembly
- Associated Press, May 18, WHO health regulations do not violate US decision-making
- USA TODAY, November 29, 2021, Fact Check: Context of WHO Guidelines Statement on Parental Consent for Child Vaccination is Missing
- World Health Organization, April 12, Strengthen WHO preparedness and response to health emergencies
- USA TODAY, January 22, 2021, Biden administration renewed support for the World Health Organization is “good news for America and the world”, say scientists
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 26, International Health Regulations (IHR)
- World Health Organization, 28 April, SEVENTY-FIFTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
- Brian Abramson, May 19, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Thomas Bollyky, May 23, Telephone interview with USA TODAY
- AFP, May 24, the United States has not proposed to grant WHO control of health care
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