US promises to donate millions of vaccine doses – AIM

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US promises to donate millions of vaccine doses – AIM

8:14 CAT | 07 Jun 2021

in file CoM

The United States government has announced that it is donating surplus Covid-19 vaccines from its own stocks in order to help other nations combat the pandemic.

A White House press statement on Thursday said that the US will “share 80 million US vaccine doses worldwide”. 75 per cent of these doses will be distributed through COVAX, the facility set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure that vaccines reach low and middle income countries.

“The United States will share at least three-quarters of its donated doses through COVAX, supplying U.S. doses to countries in need”, the White House release said. “This will maximize the number of vaccines available equitably for the greatest number of countries and for those most at-risk within countries. For doses shared through COVAX, the United States will prioritize Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, in coordination with the African Union”.

“The United States”, it adds, “has received requests for vaccines from countries all over the world. The U.S. will share up to one-quarter of its donated doses directly with countries in need, those experiencing surges, immediate neighbours, and other countries that have requested immediate U.S. assistance”.

The release promises not to resort to vaccine blackmail. “The United States will not use its vaccines to secure favours from other countries”, it says. “The U.S. will work with partners who are both ready and in need. And, our donations will prioritize countries with vaccine readiness plans that prioritize individuals at highest risk of severe disease and those working to help care for them, like health care workers”.

Of the first 25 million doses, nearly 19 million will be shared through COVAX. Six million will go to South and Central America, seven million to Asia and five million to Africa. The Asian and American countries eligible are listed by name, but for Africa, the vaccines “will be shared with countries that will be selected in coordination with the African Union”.

It is thus not immediately clear whether Mozambique will be one of these countries. It is certainly in urgent need of more vaccines. In February, it received 200,000 vaccines donated by the Chinese government, all of which have been used.

In March, it received 484,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India. 100,000 doses were donated by the Indian government and 384,000 doses were provided through Covax.

On Thursday this week, the Chinese armed forces donated 60,000 doses – mostly intended for the Mozambican military, but the Health Ministry can also use them for other priority groups.

As of 24 May, according to Health Minister Armindo Tiago, 323,097 people had received at least one dose of vaccine against Covid-19, which is only two per cent of the target figure of 16 million.

“The sharing of millions of U.S. vaccines with other countries signals a major commitment by the U.S. government”, said the White House statement. “Just like in the United States, we will move as expeditiously as possible, while abiding by U.S. and host country regulatory and legal requirements, to facilitate the safe and secure transport of vaccines across international borders. This will take time, but the President has directed the Administration to use all the levers of the U.S. government to protect individuals from this virus as quickly as possible”.

Source: AIM