London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

"...To Save Lives": US President Biden Unveils International Covid Vaccine Sharing Plan

"...To Save Lives": US President Biden Unveils International Covid Vaccine Sharing Plan

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values," US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

President Joe Biden outlined his plan Thursday for the first of 80 million coronavirus vaccine doses that the US will distribute globally, with 75 percent of shots disbursed via the Covax program.

In a fact sheet the White House said that for the doses shared through Covax, Washington would prioritize countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa as it aims to help stave off fresh surges of infections.

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions," Biden said in a statement.

"We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values."

Biden earlier pledged to export 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to countries around the world by the end of this month.

The commitment came amid pressure from other governments to use the United States' large vaccine surplus to help struggling nations now that significant progress has been made in rolling out vaccinations at home.

"The process to export the first 25 million is underway," White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters.

"We will deliver on the president's commitment of 80 million doses by the end of June."

He said the first tranche is coming from the federal supply of doses and will be comprised of a combination of the three vaccines with current US emergency use authorization: Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNTech.

A vaccine created by AstraZeneca has yet to earn US authorization.

Covax is an international scheme cofounded by the World Health Organization (WHO) that intends to get enough vaccines for 30 percent of the population in 92 of the poorest participating territories -- 20 percent in India -- with donors covering the cost.

'Very appreciative'


According to the US plan, of its first 25 million doses, about seven million are allocated for Asia, especially India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Taiwan.

Some six million are allocated to nations in South and Central America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Guatemala and Haiti.

Five million are reserved for Africa and will be distributed in coordination with the African Union, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

"But ultimately, the United States will have the authority to say the doses are going here as opposed to there," he added.

India swiftly expressed gratitude, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting he spoke with US Vice President Kamala Harris after the announcement.

"I deeply appreciate the assurance of vaccine supplies to India as part of the US Strategy for Global Vaccine Sharing," PM Modi said.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus weighed in to say he was "very appreciative" of Biden announcing the distribution of doses "to protect those most at-risk & for encouraging others to do the same."

Biden said that the remaining six million doses of the initial 25 million will be shared directly with countries experiencing surges or that are in crisis, as well as with partners and neighbors like Canada, Mexico and South Korea.

Sullivan stressed the United States wants to "retain some flexibility" about allocating doses outside the Covax formula as necessary.

Covax has already delivered nearly 80 million doses to 127 territories, with AstraZeneca shots making up 97 percent of doses supplied so far -- the rest being Pfizer-BioNTech.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×