Half of the funding will go to subsidize purchases of vaccine doses for 92 poor and developing countries through COVAX, the global effort for equitable access to the vaccine led by Gavi and two other organizations. The remaining $ 2 billion will be allocated over the next two years to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution, with the first $ 500 million expected to be released quickly. The government hopes the donation will encourage other countries to contribute more to the effort, which it estimates will cost $ 15 billion.
Why does it matter: The Biden government announced last month that it would participate in COVAX, reversing former President Donald Trump’s refusal to join the program because of his connection to the World Health Organization. However, it was not clear at the time when the United States could donate your own vaccine supply.
Poor countries and global health advocates have been pressuring wealthy nations to share part of their supply, warning that the uneven launch of the vaccine could leave them trying to recover for years. Allowing a high number of infections to continue worldwide can also lead to new variants of the virus that could threaten to prolong the pandemic for both rich and poor countries, experts argue.
However, the wealthiest countries that have snapped up most of the available vaccine doses have focused on inoculating their citizens first, as they face pressure to accelerate these efforts. The Biden government official in a background call on Thursday made it clear that the priority is to vaccinate Americans.
“While we are unable to share vaccine doses at this time, while we are focused on American vaccinations and obtaining gun injections here, we are working hard to support the strengthening of global COVAX vaccination worldwide and determine the timeline for when we will have a supply. enough in the United States and we can donate surplus vaccines, ”said the official.
The Biden government said it hopes to have enough vaccine doses for all Americans by the end of July, although it will take longer to complete the vaccination.
Global anxiety about the vaccine race: French President Emmanuel Macron, in an interview published on Thursday, said he hoped to convince Biden and other G7 leaders to commit to immediately sharing 3 to 5 percent of their vaccine supply with the poorest countries.
Macron said he was concerned about the “war of influence over vaccines” sparked by China and Russia by donating doses of their home vaccines to poor countries. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that the Biden government was watching “these actions with concern”.
India has also recently started donating and selling doses of domestically produced vaccines to poor countries that do not have access to other vaccines.
The Biden administration believes that supporting COVAX “is one of the best ways to expand access to Covid’s vaccines,” said official Biden, noting that the global effort works only with vaccines that meet WHO standards for safety and effectiveness. So far, WHO has not yet given emergency use authorization for vaccines made in Russia and China, which still have doubts about their effectiveness rates. The decision on vaccines produced by Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm is expected next month, at least.
WHO has given emergency authorization for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and for AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The first doses of COVAX are expected to reach dozens of countries next week. COVAX organizers aim to deliver 2 billion doses by the end of this year, with a focus on vaccinating health professionals and the most vulnerable.