News Desk :
The White House laid out a plan for the United States to share 25 million surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses to the world, with the first shots shipping as soon as Thursday, and said it would ease other countries’ access to U.S.-made supplies for vaccine production.
Approximately 7 million doses will be shared in Asia covering countries and entities, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands, according to White House.
President Joe Biden said the United States would give the vaccines without expectation of political favors in return. The dose shipments are the first of some 80 million Covid-19 vaccines that Biden has pledged to provide internationally this month as concern grows about the huge disparity in vaccination rates between advanced economies and developing countries.
The United States will donate nearly 19 million doses through the Covax international vaccine-sharing program, Biden said in a statement. Through Covax, some 6 million doses would go to Latin America and the Caribbean, about 7 million doses to South and Southeast Asia and roughly 5 million to Africa.
The remaining doses, amounting to just over 6 million, would go directly from the United States to countries including Canada, Mexico, India and South Korea, he said.
“We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions,” Biden said. “We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values.”
Although the United States is working through Covax co-run by the World Health Organization, the White House retains final say in which countries receive U.S. doses and how many, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The White House will base donation decisions on “factors included achieving global coverage, responding to crises … and helping as many countries as possible,” Sullivan said, adding the United States intends to prioritize its neighbors, including Canada, Mexico and countries in Central and South America.
