WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will announce plans to contribute up to $ 4 billion to a global Covid-19 vaccine program aimed at helping developing countries, a move that officials argue will strengthen the national security interests of the United States, helping to control the pandemic globally.
The United States will contribute an initial $ 2 billion over the next few days to a program supported by the World Health Organization called COVAX, which supports access to vaccines for 92 countries. The remaining $ 2 billion will be contributed over the next two years, including another $ 500 million when other donor pledges are fulfilled and initial doses are delivered.
While millions of Americans are still waiting to get access to the vaccine, government officials said that contributing the funds, which were specifically appropriated by Congress in December for external assistance to the pandemic, will help Americans reduce the risk of new mutations that could extend the pandemic.
“We think it is vital to play a role in fighting the pandemic globally and to really put the leadership of the United States in doing so,” said a senior government official. “It is extremely important to increase vaccination globally, while we will, of course, prioritize vaccinations here at home.”
The move highlights Biden’s different approach to global affairs after former President Donald Trump withdrew from WHO and signed an executive order prioritizing vaccines for Americans before helping other countries. Still, senior officials said the United States will only consider giving vaccines to low-income countries when there is enough supply to vaccinate all Americans, contrary to what some global health organizations have requested.
The global aid organization UNICEF said that countries that vaccinated their own health professionals and populations most at risk of serious illnesses should share doses of the vaccine with other countries so they can do the same. Almost 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, still need to administer a single dose, the group said on February 10, which UNICEF called a “self-destructive strategy” that will give more opportunities for the virus to mutate.
It is also unclear how much financing will help in the short term. Some global health officials have complained that funding is not the problem when it comes to getting the vaccine quickly to developing countries because there is not enough vaccine to buy, a problem the United States contributed to by scooping up hundreds of millions of doses for Americans.
Biden will make the announcement at a virtual meeting on Friday of G-7 leaders, where the response to the global pandemic is expected to be the focus of the meeting.
