Image Credit:twitter.com/POTUS, business-standard.com
The Biden administration of the United States is believed to be donating around 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 92 countries around the world. According to news reports in the American press, the US may have stuck a deal with vaccine maker Pfizer to purchase 500 million doses of vaccines to be distributed through the WHO supported COVAX programme. President Joe Biden could announce the move as soon as Thursday.
The vaccines would reportedly be donated to 92 lower-income countries in different parts of the world including the African continent. While the first 200 million vaccines would be purchased this year itself, the remaining 300 million Pfizer vaccine doses are likely to be purchased in 2022.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan had told the press that sharing vaccines would be in America’s health and strategic interests.
“We have to end COVID-19 not just at home, which we’re doing, but everywhere,” Biden later told in a speech to the US military.
If the donation goes through, it will be a big diplomatic offensive on part of the US to end the COVID-19 pandemic globally. The Biden administration had been facing criticism for not giving enough doses to the world in comparison to its arch-enemy China.
The move comes on the heels of the White House’s announcement to donate 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by June this year. Last week, the US government had announced that the first 25 million of these doses would be donated to countries in Latin America, Africa, South and Southeast Asia.
On Wednesday, Joe Biden departed to Europe as a part of his first foreign visit since assuming office. He will be attending the G7 summit in the UK, meetings with NATO and the European Union and will also meet the Russian president Vladimir Putin in Geneva on 16 June.