The United States will purchase 500 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to share through the COVAX global alliance for donation to 92 developing countries and the African Union over the next year, according to a person familiar with the matter. of the matter.
President Joe Biden will make the official announcement Thursday in a speech ahead of the start of the Group of Seven summit in Britain. This year 200 million doses will be shared, enough to fully protect 100 million people – the vaccine requires two doses – and the rest will be donated in the first half of 2022, the person said.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that Biden is committed to sharing vaccines because it is in the public health and strategic interests of the United States. In his first trip abroad, Biden aims to show “that democracies are the countries that can best bring solutions to people around the world,” Sullivan said.
“As he said (in his speech) to the joint session (of Congress), we were the ‘arsenal of democracy’ in World War II,” Sullivan noted. “We are going to be the ‘vaccine arsenal’ in this next period to help end the pandemic.”
News of Pfizer’s vaccine sharing plan was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, who asked to speak on condition of anonymity prior to the president’s official announcement. The Washington Post newspaper was the first to report it.
The United States is facing mounting pressure to explain what its global vaccine exchange plan will be. Inequality in the pool of coronavirus inoculations around the world has worsened, and demand in the United States, where 64% of adults have received at least one dose, has been drastically reduced.
Last week, the White House unveiled its plans to donate 25 million vaccines to other countries, primarily through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising doses to Central and South America, Asia and Africa, and other nations at a time. of obvious shortages abroad.
So far, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June, most through COVAX.
Officials say a third of the nation’s surplus will be held in reserve for any emergency and for the United States to share directly with allies and partners.
The White House has also sent doses to allies, including South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine.
International public health groups had tried to use the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, to pressure democracies in wealthier nations to do more to share vaccines with the rest of the world, and Biden’s plans drew praise. immediate in that sense.
“The Biden administration’s decision to purchase and donate additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines is the kind of bold leadership that is required to end this global pandemic,” said Tom Hart, Acting Director of The ONE Campaign, a non-profit group that fights poverty.
“This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America’s commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic and the immense power of American leadership globally.”
Internationally, more than 3.7 million deaths have been recorded from COVID-19, and more than 174 million people have contracted the disease.
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