US to Donate 500M Doses of Pfizer Vaccine to Nations Still in Throes of Pandemic
The White House announced Thursday that the United States will purchase and donate half a billion Pfizer vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union, a historic action intended to supercharge the global fight against the pandemic.
In a statement, the White House said the move is the largest-ever purchase and donation of vaccines by a single country and “a commitment by the American people to help protect people around the world from COVID-19.”
President Biden is also expected to call on the world’s democracies on Thursday to “do their parts” in contributing to the global supply of safe and effective vaccines.
The administration also said there’s continued good news about the U.S. efforts to beat COVID-19 here at home. As of Wednesday night, 64% of adult Americans have received at least one shot in just four and a half months, daily death rates are now lower than at any point in the pandemic.
“Now, the United States is using the power of our democracy, the ingenuity of American scientists, and the strength of American manufacturing to beat the pandemic globally by helping to vaccinate the world,” the White House statement said.
The announcement comes on the heels of the administration’s donation of at least 80 million vaccines from the United States’ supply by the end of June.
Additionally, the United States has contributed two billion dollars to COVAX, and is supporting local production capacity abroad for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through the Quad initiative.
Pfizer plans to produce these half a billion doses in the U.S. at their facilities in Kalamazoo, Michigan, McPherson, Kansas, Chesterfield, Missouri, and Andover, Massachusetts.