US To Share 25 Million COVID Vaccines To Countries Badly In Need

The White House announced the U.S. strategy for global vaccine sharing and their allocation plan for the first 25 million doses to be shared globally.

This will be the first tranche of President Joe Biden’s commitment to sharing a total of 80 million doses by the end of June.

Out of the 25 million doses, approximately 6 million will go to Latin America and the Caribbean; 7 million to South and Southeast Asia; and 5 million to the African Union and Africa CDC. “And we’re sharing 25 percent of these vaccines with countries with immediate needs and to help surges around the world,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a news conference.

To accelerate manufacturing and production lines in the U.S., Pfizer and Moderna have already increased their capacity to produce vaccines for the world.

A plane carrying one million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine took off Thursday to South Korea.

In the weeks ahead, the United States will send a regular cadence of shipments around the world.

“We’re working with vaccine manufacturers to vastly increase vaccine supply for the rest of the world in a way that can also create jobs here at home,” Psaki told reporters.

At a press briefing, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington received requests from all over the world.

President Biden has committed to sharing 80 million doses by the end of June. The US Government will continue to donate to the world from its excess supply.

“We’re also working with our G7 partners on a larger effort to help end the pandemic so that the world’s democracies deliver for people everywhere,” Sullivan told reporters.

He added that the Biden administration will continue to build on its existing health and health security efforts focused on stopping the spread of COVID-19: “increasing vaccination, detecting outbreaks and variants, responding rapidly to flares, and critically recovering economically here at home and around the world”.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to President Andres Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, President Alejandro Giammattei of Guatemala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Keith Rowley, Chairman of the Caribbean Community regarding sharing the first 25 million doses of COVID vaccines to their respective countries.

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