The Biden administration will move to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus jab in a bid to improve vaccine equity around the world.
President Joe Biden is expected to make the announcement at this week’s G-7 leaders summit in Cornwall, England.
All doses will transition through the COVAX organisation, which is the international vaccine initiative program.
It’s believed the deal has been under works for the past month, and the donated doses will be distributed to 92 developing nations.
About 200 million vaccine doses will be provided in 2021 and the further 300 million will be made available within the first six months of 2022.
Officials say a quarter of the nation’s excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.
The White House has also directed doses to allies including South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine.
In addition to this announcement, Biden is also expected to unveil a coordinated response led by G-7 nations to bring this global pandemic to an end.
“The Biden administration’s decision to purchase and donate additional Covid-19 vaccine doses is the kind of bold leadership that is needed to end this global pandemic,” said Tom Hart, acting CEO at The ONE Campaign, a nonprofit that seeks to end poverty.
“This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America’s commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic and the immense power of US global leadership.”
