Biden Administration Will Ship 11 Million Vaccine Doses to Africa and Other Regions

The Biden medication volition announce a program to vessel 11 cardinal doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to Africa and different regions, according to remarks obtained by The Hill that volition beryllium delivered by Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 effect coordinator.

“Just today, we are shipping 11 cardinal doses. Eleven cardinal doses successful 1 day. That’s much doses shipped by the U.S. successful a azygous time than what each but 7 different countries person delivered successful full since the commencement of this pandemic,” Zients volition say. “Of the 11 cardinal — 9 cardinal are shipping to Africa — bringing our full doses donated to Africa to 100 million. That’s American leadership. And we are calling connected the remainder of the satellite to measurement up and articulation us.”

The announcement reflects the Biden administration’s broader effort to summation planetary vaccine rates by accelerating vaccine shipments. The medication antecedently pledged to stock much than 1 cardinal doses worldwide, the bulk of them done COVAX, planetary collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable entree to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

The announcement comes arsenic the satellite reels from the find of the Omicron variant, which was archetypal detected successful South Africa and motivated galore Western nations to barroom question from respective African countries. Some countries, similar Israel, Japan, and Morocco person blocked overseas travelers altogether.