World leaders and organizations came together virtually this week and pledged $8 billion to research, manufacture and distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for the new coronavirus.

The funding pledge comes as the number of people infected with COVID-19  worldwide was more than 3.7 million with over 258,000 killed, according to a Reuters tally.

Health authorities are working to turn the page on the fractious and haphazard initial global response to the coronavirus crisis. Many leaders stressed that any treatment or vaccine must be available to everyone. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it should not just be for rich countries.

“We can’t just have the wealthiest countries, the most successful scientific countries, have this success and not share it with the world, because we will not be safer until we’re able to share it with the world,” he said.

Related discussion: Mental health, stress and resiliency during the coronavirus pandemic

As part of our weekly series taking your questions to the experts, The World’s Jonathan Dyer moderated a discussion with Dr. Barry Bloom, the Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health and former dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who addressed the current thinking about possible COVID-19 treatments.