Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (Photo: AP)

He added that withdrawal could hurt its efforts to coordinate work on a coronavirus vaccine, as well as its work on other viruses that can reach American shores.

Dr. Jack Chow, a US ambassador for global HIV/AIDS in the George W. Bush administration said Trump's decision to cut ties with WHO is an impulsive and punitive move.

Irish Minister for Health Simon Harris described President Trump's plan to cut ties with the World Health Organization (WHO) as an "awful decision."

Zack Cooper, an expert on US defense strategy in Asia with the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank, applauded Trump’s moves but said China is unlikely to reverse course. He said these steps will anger Beijing, but they are unlikely to prevent it from exercising greater control over Hong Kong, therefore tensions are expected to rise.