The Joe Biden administration announced on Monday the roadmap for the batch of 55 million doses of COVID vaccines that it intends to send to countries in need.
This batch of vaccines will complete President Biden’s plan to send 80 million doses from its own vaccine supply.
41 million of the 55 million doses (75%) will go through the WHO’s Covax program and the rest of the doses, amounting to 14 million or 25% of the total, will be donated at Washington’s discretion.
The vaccines in the Covax quota include 14 million for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 16 million for Asia, and 10 million for Africa in coordination with the African Union.
The first batch that the US government sent comprised of Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. Which vaccines will be included in the current batch is a question that has not been answered, for now, AFP reported.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is still waiting to get US authorization but is in use elsewhere.
While developed countries are ramping up vaccinations and returning to normal, COVID cases are surging elsewhere, including in South America and Africa. Less than 1% of COVID vaccine doses globally have been administered to people in low-income countries.
“The Biden administration’s plan for sharing more COVID-19 vaccine doses globally will help end the pandemic faster and save lives,” AFP quoted Tom Hart, acting CEO of The One campaign to eradicate poverty and preventable disease, as saying.