US Donates 500 Million Doses Of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine To Low-Income Countries

Pfizer Vaccine. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Secretary of Defense )

JAKARTA - The United States (US) government plans to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 100 countries over the next two years.

Government aide Joe Biden said the United States is likely to distribute 200 million vaccines this year and 300 million vaccines in the first half of next year, to 92 low-income countries and the African Union.

The donation will go through the COVAX vaccine program which distributes COVID-19 injections to low- and middle-income countries. The program is led by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

"US President Joe Biden will announce the deal on Thursday at the UK meeting of the Group of Seven (G-7) richest countries in the world," a source told Reuters.

"The deal was negotiated over the past four weeks by White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients and the coronavirus task force team," the source continued.

The White House and Pfizer declined to comment. Previously, Pfizer said it expects to produce as many as 3 billion COVID-19 vaccines by 2021 and more than 4 billion next year.

Separately, The New York Times reported the United States would buy the dose at a "non-profit" price, citing people familiar with the deal. They also reported that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla would accompany Biden during the announcement.

The agreement is in addition to the 300 million shots the United States has purchased from Pfizer and brings the total number of Pfizer/BioNTech shots purchased by the United States to 800 million, the Times said.

Prior to flying to the UK on Air Force One, President Biden said he had a global vaccine strategy and would announce it later, without providing details.

Illustration of a COVID-19 vaccination. (Wikimedia Commons/Governo do Estado de São Paulo)

Meanwhile, CNBC reported Wednesday that the U.S. Government is also talking to Moderna Inc. about purchasing its vaccines to donate to other countries.

A Moderna spokesperson said the company was interested in providing the US Government with COVID-19 injections to give to low- and middle-income countries, but declined to comment on any discussions.

The White House is under increasing pressure to increase donations of COVID-19 injections to other countries. This is in line with their vaccination program which is better than other countries.

The United States has given at least one injection to about 64 percent of the adult population and has begun vaccinating adolescents. While other countries, such as Brazil and India, are struggling to get the much-needed dose.

"This action sends a very strong message about America's commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic," said Tom Hart, acting chief executive of the non-profit organization The ONE Campaign.

The Biden Administration said it would distribute 80 million doses of the vaccine worldwide by the end of June. The White House earlier this year also pledged $4 billion to COVAX and urged other countries to increase their donations.