By Jeff Mason
The White House on Monday laid out aplan to share 55 million US Covid-19 vaccine doses globally, with roughly 75% of the doses allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa through the Covax international vaccine-sharing programme.
The plan fulfills President Joe Biden’s commitment to share80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world.The president sketched out his priorities for the first 25million doses from that pledge earlier this month.
“As we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at home andwork to end the pandemic worldwide, President Biden has promisedthat the United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for theworld,” the White House said in a statement.
Of the 55 million remaining doses, some 41 million would beshared through COVAX, the White House said, with approximately14 million going to Latin America and the Caribbean, some 16million to Asia, and roughly 10 million to Africa.
The other 25%, or roughly 14 million doses, would be shared with “regional priorities”, including Colombia, Argentina, Iraq, Ukraine, the West Bank and Gaza.
“For all of these doses, those most at risk, such as healthcare workers, should be prioritized, based on national vaccine plans,” the White House said.
As greater numbers of people get vaccinated in the United States, the Biden administration has turned its focus increasingly to shipping vaccines abroad. International partners are eager to get even more.