The US will provide a 500m dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine

The U.S. will buy another 500m Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer to deliver to other countries, with Joe Biden announcing on Thursday a significant expansion of efforts to help increase the country’s inoculation rates.

The Biden administration agreed to buy a 200m dose this year and to buy 300m in the first half of next year to ship to other countries, according to a person familiar with the deal. earlier report Published by The Washington Post.

The agreement has increased the dose of 80m vaccines given by the Biden administration to other countries after the US criticized it for storing doses instead of helping those in need.

The White House did not comment, Pfizer did not immediately respond to that request. The US president is expected to make the announcement in the UK ahead of a G7 summit in Cornwall this weekend.

The U.S. has overseen one of the fastest spreading of vaccines in the world, giving at least one dose to more than half the population. But demand for doses has slowed in recent weeks, with just over 1 million people now receiving vaccines every day – About 3.5 days in April.

Biden had previously promised to deliver 80m doses from the country’s warehouse, the first of which was 25m assigned last week. Some experts have called this commitment inappropriate and have warned that more will be needed to help such countries India, has been the second devastating wave of the disease in recent months.

All 500m doses would be allocated through the Covax scheme sponsored by the World Health Organization, according to the person who provided the details, and will be delivered to 92 countries.

Covax has promised to deliver 2 billion doses worldwide by the end of the year, but has thwarted a decision by the Indian Serum Institute. stop exporting doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which the country is facing as it faces its second wave.

The difference in the U.S. government’s negotiations was led by Jeff Zients, head of the Biden Covid-19 working group, the person added. Administration officials did not say how much the doses would cost.

U.S. officials said they were also looking at how to increase production in other countries, especially mRNA vaccines, such as those made by BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna, which have replaced most of the U.S. expansion.

But some campaigns want the administration to go beyond that and force those who get vaccinated deliver their technology to start production outside the US for companies in other countries.

Peter Maybarduk, director of the Public Citizen Consumer Advocacy Program, said in a statement: “We have not yet seen a plan by the US government or the G7 on the ambition or need to make and end billions of more doses. Pandemic.

“President Biden and other leaders underestimate their ability to establish conditions with those who vaccinate and coordinate immediate production on a massive scale.”