US pledges to share 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses globally

President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) announced that the United States will share 80 million vaccine doses globally over the next six weeks, five times more than any other country has shared to date which represents 13 percent of vaccines produced in the country by June end.

Biden during his address said, “Today, we’re taking an additional step to help the world. We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic, that’s rising globally, is under control. No ocean is wide enough, no walls high enough to keep us safe.”

The President added, “America will never be fully safe while this pandemic is raging globally. That’s why today, I’m announcing that over the next six weeks we will send 80 million vaccine doses overseas… It is the right thing to do. It is the smart thing to do. It is a strong thing to do.”

The 80 million doses will include 20 million doses of the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as well as AstraZeneca. The US already announced it would share 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries by July 4, according to CNN.

The President said that the US would distribute all of its AstraZeneca vaccine produced in the country once authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.

“New variants could rise overseas that could put us at greater risk and we need to help fight the disease around the world to keep us safe here at home and to do the right thing of helping other people. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do. It’s the strong thing to do,” Biden said.

Biden also touted that this latest announcement will make the US a leader in sharing vaccine supplies, outpacing both China and Russia, according to CNN.

“We want to lead the world with our values, with this demonstration of our innovation and ingenuity and the fundamental decency of the American people. Just as in World War II, America was the arsenal of democracy, in the battle against Covid-19 pandemic, our nation is going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world. We’ll share these vaccines in the service of ending the pandemic everywhere. And we will not use our vaccines to secure favours from other countries,” the President said.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki noted the 80 million doses would be the most donated by any country, five times over.