“It is about saving lives,” Blinken said during comments at the State Department. “We will treat our partner countries with respect.”
Blinken made the announcement and revealed a new Covid coordinator, Gayle Smith, as the United States is increasingly criticized for not sharing unused vaccines with other countries, even with Russia and China aggressively pursuing vaccine diplomacy with nations around the world.
“As we become more confident in our vaccine supply here at home, we are exploring options to share more with other countries in the future,” said Blinken. “We believe that we will be in a position to do much more on that front. I know that many countries are asking the United States to do more, some with growing despair, because of the scope and scale of their emergencies in Covid. We listen to you, and I I promise we’re going as soon as possible. “
Blinken did not describe the levels of vaccination in the US that the Biden administration hopes to achieve before sharing more vaccines worldwide.
He stressed the need for global cooperation and for the US to help other countries.
“Even if we vaccinate all 332 million people in the United States tomorrow, we will still not be completely safe from the virus,” said the top US diplomat in comments at the State Department. “Not while it is still replicating around the world and becoming new variants that could easily come here and spread across our communities, again, and not if we want to fully reopen our economy or start traveling again.”
“This pandemic will not end at home until it ends around the world,” said Blinken.
‘Core Values’
He also highlighted other “core values” that, he said, will guide the State Department’s plans, doing what appeared to be a coup against Russia and China.
“We will not over-promise and under-deliver. We will maintain high standards for the vaccines we help deliver to others, only by distributing those that are proven to be safe and effective. We will insist on an equity-based approach,” said Blinken.
China has taken a different approach to the United States and is widely exporting vaccines before making them widely available at home. Russia and India are also sharing vaccines, but not on the same scale as Beijing. China’s Foreign Ministry announced last month that it is providing free vaccines to 69 countries and exporting them commercially to 28 others.
Blinken also introduced Smith, the head of Campaign ONE and a former head of the United States Agency for International Development, who will become the coordinator of the State Department for international efforts to combat the Covid pandemic.
Observing his experience leading the United States’ response to the Ebola crisis in 2014 and working on the global fight against malaria, tuberculosis and HIV AIDS, Blinken said Smith was “tested. She is highly respected. She will start working immediately. And I can for having worked with Gail and admired her for years, that no one will work harder, faster or more effectively to get us to the finish line. “
Smith, an Africa expert and veteran of the aid and development world, served in USAID under former President Barack Obama before joining ONE Campaign, a non-partisan advocacy group that fights global poverty.
Smith said he “fought some viruses in the past” and learned two lessons.
“The first is that if the virus is moving faster than we are, it is winning,” she said. “The second is that, with unity of purpose, science, surveillance and leadership, we can overcome any virus. America has done this before.” Smith then invoked the story of America’s bipartisan efforts to address health challenges.
Referring to the President’s highly regarded AIDS Emergency Plan, or PEPFAR program, she said that “18 years ago, a Republican president launched a bold initiative to tackle the HIV / AIDS epidemic. A Democratic president went on to expand that mission and scope. In 2014, the Obama-Biden government, with strong and generous support from Congress, defeated the world’s first Ebola epidemic. “
Noting that “American leadership is desperately needed,” Smith said the United States and the global community face two challenges. “First, to shorten the life of a borderless pandemic that is destroying lives and livelihoods around the world. And the second is to ensure that we can prevent, detect and respond to future threats to global health that we know are coming. ”
Prior to leading USAID, Smith served as Obama’s special assistant and as senior director of development and democracy at the National Security Council. While working for Obama, Smith helped coordinate his government’s response to the Ebola epidemic.
Smith worked as a journalist across Africa, reporting to a variety of international media from Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya, among other countries, before co-founding the Enough Project, which is dedicated to ending the genocide.
The ONE campaign said it would be on temporary leave.
Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Sydney Walton of CNN contributed to this report.