The United States Government on Monday announced plans to share 55 million U.S. COVID-19 vaccine doses globally, with Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and others through a vaccine sharing programme.
This was disclosed in a report by Reuters on Tuesday. The report added that 75% of the doses would be allocated to Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa through the COVAX programme.
The US Government said 41 million vaccines would be shared through COVAX, as Africa is set to receive 10 million, Asia – 16 million vaccines and 14 million towards Latin America.
According to the White House, 14 million doses would be shared alongside “regional priorities”, including Colombia, Argentina, Iraq, Ukraine, the West Bank and Gaza.
“We have plenty of doses to share with the world, but this is a Herculean logistical challenge.
“We have announced today where these doses are going. We will continue to announce as they land on the ground and as they are being shipped, and we’re looking forward to doing that as quickly as possible,” White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki said.
The 55 million doses will be taken from the U.S. supply of Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca’s vaccines if it gets approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
The White House said it wanted the doses to be prioritized for healthcare workers and those who are most at risk.
The White House added that countries that would receive the vaccine through direct sharing are Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and many others.
