The remaining 55 million doses of COVID vaccine will be distributed, but not in time to meet President Biden’s deadline.
The Biden administration revealed Monday allocation plans for 55 million doses of coronavirus vaccination, amid what officials say are logistical challenges that have delayed the commitment to share 80 million with other countries by the end of June.
In a news release released Monday, the White House said most of the 55 million shots will be shared through the COVAX global exchange mechanism. About 14 million doses will go to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, while 16 million will go to countries in Asia, including India. About 10 million doses will go to Africa, with countries selected in coordination with the African Union.
The remaining doses, approximately 25%, will be shared directly with countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
“Sharing millions of U.S. vaccines with other countries indicates a major commitment by the U.S. government,” the White House said in the fact sheet.
“As in our internal response, we will move as quickly as possible, while respecting the legal and regulatory requirements of the US and the host country, to facilitate the safe and secure transportation of vaccines across international borders.”
But President Joe Biden is not expected to live up to his commitment to the ship 80 million Dose of COVID-19 vaccine abroad in late June.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said doses produced in the United States are ready and that the delays are due to regulatory and logistical hurdles.
“What we’ve found as the biggest challenge isn’t actually supply – we have a lot of doses to share with the world – but this is a Herculean logistical challenge,” Psaki said during a regular press conference on Monday.
A woman who received a vaccine against COVID-19 shot at a pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania [File: Hannah Beier/Reuters]
To date, less than 10 million doses have been shipped from the United States to other countries, including 2.5 million doses delivered to Taiwan over the weekend and approx 1 million doses delivered in Mexico, Canada and South Korea earlier this month.
Psaki said shipments will leave as soon as countries are ready to receive doses and the administration solves the logistical complexities, including vaccination supplies such as syringes and cushions of alcohol preparation, cold storage for doses, customs procedures and even language barriers.
Psaki said he was unaware of how many doses would be sent by the end of the month.
The United States has sent “overdose” doses (shots that are not needed in the U.S.) amid falling demand for vaccinations in recent weeks. More than 177 million Americans has received at least one shot.
Earlier this month, Biden announced that in addition to the 80 million doses his administration would share worldwide, the U.S. was buying 500 million doses from Pfizer to give to everyone over the next year, with the first deliveries scheduled for August.
Taiwanese workers unloaded Modern vaccines shipped from the U.S. to Taoyuan, Taiwan [Ann Wang/Reuters]
The White House earlier this month also unveiled plans for the former 25 million doses for the export of existing federal vaccine stocks Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson and some have already begun shipping.
Biden initially pledged to provide everything to other nations 60 million Dose produced in the United States of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been authorized for use in the United States, but is widely approved worldwide. Doses of AstraZeneca have been maintained for export through a weekly safety review by the Food and Drug Administration.
