USA – Biden announces to share 20 million Covid19 vaccine doses with the world
The United States will share 20 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses with other countries, taking the total number of such shots to 80 million, President Joe Biden said on Monday. “We will not use our vaccines to secure favours from other countries,” Biden said as he announced that in addition to the 60 million AstraZeneca vaccines, the US will give another 20 million Covid-19 approved vaccines.
“In March, we shared over four million doses of our AstraZeneca vaccine with Canada and Mexico. At the end of April, we announced that we would provide another 60 million doses of our AstraZeneca vaccine overseas,” he said. The White House would not say which countries were being prioritized for the shipments, but Biden has signaled that Washington will be doing what it can to help India push back against a surge in the pandemic.
“Our nation’s going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world,” Biden said. He added that, compared to other countries like Russia and China that have sought to leverage their domestically produced doses, “we will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries.” Biden said the next wave of 20 million doses would also include already authorised vaccines being used in the United States – Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.
More than 157 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 123 million are full vaccinated against the virus. Biden hopes the U.S. will have 160 million people fully vaccinated by July Fourth.
