The US government plans to donate 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the US to assist other countries in address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US government will send 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries by the end of June 2021, according to a May 17, 2021 press statement. This equates to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine once reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration and at least another 20 million doses of vaccines that are authorized for use in the US. The White House says it will continue to donate from the US government’s excess supply as that supply is delivered to the US.

Going forward over the coming weeks (as reported on May 17, 2021), the US government will work with other G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK), the European Union, COVAX, a mechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines., and others to coordinate deliverable commitments from other governments and private-sector partners to make more vaccines available and increase production of vaccines and raw materials for global delivery.

The US International Development Finance Corporation has launched a global vaccine initiative that is targeting investments in multiple regions of the world to address both short-term crisis- response requirements as well as intermediate-term efforts to ensure better global preparedness for future health challenges. This includes, but is not limited to, the US Quad Vaccine partnership to supply at least one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The US government has also allocated $11.5 billion in new funding to support countries’ COVID-18 response Additionally, the Department of Treasury is working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and toward a $650-billion general allocation of special drawing rights under the IMF to IMF member countries.

The US government recently sent six flights and up to $100 million of assistance to India and is supporting new assistance to South Asia and Latin America as countries experience surges. Additionally, the US government supports waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines due to the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.

Source: The US White House