(GNB DESK) – President Joe Biden on Monday announced that the US will donate 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to needy nations abroad. Previously, the US announced the donation of 60 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses.
An addition of 20 million doses of US-authorized vaccines will be donated to COVAX by the end of June 2021, according to the factsheet.
“The US will continue to donate from our excess supply as that supply is delivered to us,” President Biden said yesterday.
According to a White House factsheet, yesterday’s announcement is the Biden administration’s next step to ramp up US efforts to respond to Covid-19 around the world.
The US will work with COVAX and other partners to ensure these vaccines are delivered equitably and in a way that follows the science and public health data.
The United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries, according to the factsheet.
“America will never be fully safe while this pandemic is raging globally. That’s why today, I’m announcing that over the next six weeks we will send 80 million vaccine doses overseas. It is the right thing to do. It is the smart thing to do. It is the strong thing to do,” President Biden said in a tweet.
The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed Biden’s decision.
“Your commitment to global health is deeply appreciated! #COVAX partners stand ready to support equitable distribution. Solidarity is the only way to save lives & livelihoods everywhere,” he wrote on Twitter.
According to a White House Factsheet:
In service of ending the pandemic everywhere
- The United States will work with COVAX and other partners to ensure these vaccines are delivered in a way that is equitable and follows the science and public health data. The United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries.
- In the weeks ahead, working with the world’s democracies the Biden-Harris Administration will coordinate a multilateral effort to end the pandemic. We look forward to progress on this at the G7 Summit in June.
- This is a unique moment in history, and it requires American leadership, science and ingenuity, perseverance, and the world’s democracies to step up to the plate.
Sharing U.S. surplus vaccine doses to save lives
- COVID-19 is a global challenge that requires a global response. The United States and the world will never be safe when this pandemic is raging globally. New variants will continue arise – placing us all at risk.
- Because the United States has done so much in the U.S., we can continue to do more to help the world by taking a leading role in ending the pandemic globally and building a coordinated, multilateral effort around the world aimed at ending the pandemic.
- Our overarching aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible.
- The United States will send 80 million U.S. vaccines to help countries battling the pandemic by the end of June 2021. This equates to all of its manufactured 60 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses as soon as they are reviewed by the FDA, as well as at least another 20 million doses of vaccines that are authorized for use in the United States. We will continue to donate from our excess supply as that supply is delivered to us.
- As President Biden said, just as, in World War II, America was the arsenal of democracy – in this battle against COVID-19 pandemic, our nation will be the arsenal of vaccines.
This decision builds on existing U.S. leadership in the global COVID response
- $11.5 billion in new funding to support countries’ COVID-19 response. The United States has expanded its support for countries in battling and recovering from COVID-19 globally with $11.5 billion from Congress in the American Rescue Plan.
- The COVID-19 TRIPS Waiver. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The United States supports waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines due to the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for COVID-19 Recovery. The Department of Treasury is working with the management of the International Monetary Fund and other members toward a $650 billion general allocation of SDRs to IMF member countries to support the global recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, which would also increase demand for U.S. exports and support U.S. firms and the creation of U.S. jobs.
- Global vaccine manufacturing and producing raw materials. The United States is working with the private sector and all possible partners to expand global vaccine manufacturing and distribution, as well as production of vital raw materials. For example, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has launched a global vaccine initiative that is targeting investments in multiple regions of the world both to address short-term crisis response requirements as well as intermediate-term efforts to ensure better global preparedness for future health challenges. This includes, but is not limited to, the U.S. Quad Vaccine partnership to supply at least one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
- Emergency assistance for countries in need. The United States recently sent six flights and up to $100 million of assistance to India and is supporting new assistance to South Asia and Latin America as countries experience surges.
- Re-engaging with the World Health Organization (WHO). On Day One, President Biden re-engaged with the WHO and committed to strengthening and reforming the organization.
- Advancing global health security and the Global Health Security Agenda, including by spearheading – with G-20 and other partners efforts to come to consensus in 2021 on establishing a sustainable global health security financing mechanism, triggers and independent oversight and accountability for leaders to act without hesitation when a biological threat emerges; regional surge capacity for vaccines, personal protective equipment, diagnostics, and therapeutics; and a globally fit-for-purpose biosurveillance system.
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