The United States will in the coming two months share with the rest of the world around one tenth of its supply of vaccines against COVID-19, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday.
“We have already committed… to send 60 million doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines to other countries starting this month and ending in June. That means of all of the vaccines we will have produced for the United States at that time we will have given about ten percent to the rest of the world,” Biden said.
He described it as “a significant humanitarian commitment” in addition to US funding of COVAX, an international mechanism of purchasing vaccines for underprivileged countries.
The US prioritizes domestic consumption with foreign commitments limited to Astra Zeneca vaccines that failed to win authorization for use inside the country. The White House admitted that it currently has no Astra Zeneca vaccines, but expects to receive 60 million doses soon.
