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Joe Biden said his administration will ship at least 20 million doses of U.S.-authorized Covid vaccines to other countries in the coming weeks, promising to provide an “arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world.”
In a speech at the White House on Monday, the U.S. president said the government would share “at least” doses of 20 million BioNTech / Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines with the rest of the world by the end of June, in addition of the Dose of 60 m of the AstraZeneca vaccine already committed to other countries.
Pfizer, Moderna and J&J brushes have been authorized for use by the US Food and Drug Administration, while the AstraZeneca vaccine is still awaiting authorization. Biden said doses of these nuisances would be exported once they received the green light from the regulator.
“Over the next six weeks, the United States of America will ship doses of 80 million overseas,” Biden said. “It will be more vaccines than any country has shared so far, five times more than any other country. More than Russia and China, which have given a dose of 15 million.
He added: “We want to lead the world with our values, with this demonstration of our innovation and ingenuity and the fundamental decency of the American people.”
Biden did not specify which countries will receive the doses, but said he had taken advantage of Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House Covid-19 working group, to lead the effort.
“We will share these vaccines in the service of ending the pandemic everywhere and we will not use our vaccines to gain favors from other countries,” said Biden, who added that the announcement was part of a broader effort by the US to “respond” to the pandemic around the world.
“We need to help fight the disease around the world to stay safe here at home and do the right thing by helping other people,” the president said.
Biden had said above that the U.S. would share surplus vaccines only when there were enough taps to meet U.S. demand, despite calls from some world leaders and health officials to provide more assistance to countries struggling to get enough taps.
“By the end of June, when we have already taken enough vaccines to protect everyone in the United States, the United States will share at least 20 million of those doses, this additional supply, with other countries,” Biden said.
Although almost 40% of the American population is vaccinated demand it is beginning to shrink in some parts of the country.
Biden’s announcement came a week after the FDA extended the emergency authorization for vaccination Young people from 12 to 15 years old. The president said the latest official figures showed that 60% of Americans would have received at least one stroke of Covid-19 on Tuesday.
“We still have tens of millions to vaccinate. But we are making significant progress, “he said.” Every day, the light at the end of this tunnel gets brighter. “
The president also addressed the recent change in the direction of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said last week that fully vaccinated people could go without facial masks for almost all indoor and outdoor environments.
The sudden change has caused confusion, especially in cities and states where local laws still require facial coverage or companies have their own mask policies.
Biden on Monday encouraged people to be “kind and respectful to each other when we come out of this pandemic and respect those who want to continue wearing a mask, even if they have been vaccinated.”
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