Joe Biden ‘buying world 500million Pfizer vaccines to announce at G7 in UK’
President Joe Biden will reportedly announce that the US is purchasing 500million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines to donate to the world.
Biden is set to announce the plan at the Group of Seven meeting in UK this week, three people with knowledge on the matter told the Washington Post on Wednesday afternoon.
The president’s reported plan comes as the US and other wealthy countries face increasing calls to help bolster the global supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
On Wednesday morning before boarding Air Force One for an 8-day Europe trip, the first foreign trip of his presidency, Biden was asked by reporters if he had a global vaccine sharing strategy.
‘I have one, and I’ll be announcing it,’ Biden replied.
Biden landed in the UK on Wednesday evening local time, ready to participate in the G7 meeting in Cornwall. Upon arriving, he reiterated to reporters that he would be announcing a vaccine strategy for the world.
The G7 summit will focus on vaccine diplomacy, climate issues, trade and rebuilding infrastructure in developing countries. After the G7 meeting ends, Biden and First Lady Jill will meet with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. The president will then travel to Brussels to meet with NATO leaders and then to Geneva for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden last Thursday detailed his plan to distribute the first 25million of 80million coronavirus jabs he has promised to give to the world by the end of June.
The president stated that his administration would allocate the 25million doses ‘to lay the ground for increased global coverage and to address real and potential surges, high burdens of disease, and the needs of the most vulnerable countries’.
Close to 19million, or about 75% of those doses, will be distributed through the worldwide initiative COVAX. About 7million doses are headed to South and Southeast Asia, about 6million to Latin America and the Caribbean and about 5million to Africa.
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