In an all-new revelation this Wednesday, a source close to President Biden has confirmed his plan to help poorer countries fight the coronavirus. Biden has reportedly won a deal with Pfizer to buy an additional 500 million doses, which would be distributed to lower-income countries across the world.
The deal includes the supply of 200 million doses from Pfizer to be delivered this year, while the remaining 300 million to be sent out in the first half of 2022. The U.S would aim to equally distribute this additional stock of vaccines through Covax, the global vaccine program.
Details of this plan are expected to be revealed by Biden in the United Kingdom, where he is meeting with the party leaders of the Group of 7 nations. Before embarking on his first foreign trip since the swearing presidency, the President hinted at a Covid vaccine plan underway for the whole world.
In conversation with reporters, he said “I have one and I’ll be announcing it.” The White House refused to divulge into further detail about this plan. Security advisor Jake Sullivan affirmed more details that would be revealed by Biden himself on Thursday.
According to Sullivan, “We’ll be able to talk about additional steps the United States has taken to help donate more doses to poor countries around the world, and also to leverage what the United States is doing to help get the world’s democracies to increase their commitment to supplying vaccines to the developing world.”
The 500 million vaccine doses from Pfizer are an addition to the existing 300 m doses that had been ordered by the U.S for its residents. However, as the vaccination campaign progresses, state authorities have stopped large shipments, particularly that of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine dose.
The data collected by the Centre for Disease Control and Protection shows only 11 million Johnson and Johnson vaccines that have been administered, out of a total of 21 million sent by the federal government. Now, the Biden administration is perplexed about the course of action to be taken for unused vaccines set to expire at the end of this month.
In a statement released to the public, Johnson and Johnson are said to be working on a method to improve the overall shelf life of these vaccines. Other government authorities are trying to send the vaccines to other states, to “make sure that the vaccine is utilized, whether in the United States or elsewhere.”
However, this process can be complex according to officials, as the U.S has to conduct an exhaustive investigation into a country’s medical agency to deduce the number of supplies required, handling requirements, and state information.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, senior medical advisor of the White House has informed people of the focal need to get vaccinated at the earliest, considering the “Delta” variant has been spreading rapidly among people in the United Kingdom.
