The administration of President Joe Biden will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer Covid – 19 vaccines to distribute among other countries through the global COVAX alliance to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union.
This move comes as Biden will make the formal announcement at the G-7 meeting in Britain this week. Two hundred million doses will fully protect 100 million people and would be shared this year, with the balance to be donated in the first half of 2022, the person familiar with the matter said.
Biden hinted at the announcement with the leaders of G-7 and as he is committed to share vaccines because it was in the public and strategic interests of the U.S. The President steps on his first foreign trip aiming to show “that democracies are the countries that can best deliver solutions for people everywhere.”
“As he said in his joint session, we were the ‘arsenal of democracy’ in World War II. We’re going to be the ‘arsenal of vaccines’ over this next period to help end the pandemic.” – National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses worldwide by the end of June, the majority through COVAX. It also directed doses to its allies – South Korea, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
“The Biden administration’s decision to purchase and donate additional Covid-19 vaccine doses is the kind of bold leadership that is needed to end this global pandemic. This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America’s commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic and the immense power of US global leadership.” – said Tom Hart, acting CEO at The ONE Campaign.
Worldwide, there have been more than 3.7 million deaths from Covid-19, more than 174 million people have been infected.