President Biden
Joe BidenBiden dismissed Blinken, top officials in refugee cap initial decision: Suicide bombing report hits Afghan security forces Jim Jordan, Val Demings enters screaming match over police during hearing MORE said Wednesday that he expects the United States to share excess doses of coronavirus vaccines with Canada and countries in Central America.
‘We are working on that. We’ve already done that a bit. We’re looking at what’s going to happen with some of the vaccines we don’t use, ”Biden told reporters after a speech about vaccinations at the White House. “We need to make sure they can be shipped safely, and we hope to be of some help and value to countries around the world.”
Biden noted that he recently spoke with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau Canadian Member of Parliament Apologizes After Being Seen Naked On Camera During Virtual Encounter It’s Time To Declare National Climate Emergency Personal Classes In Toronto Canceled Amid Increase In Several Cases MORE, adding that he expects to be able to send doses to Canada and countries in Central America that are lagging behind in vaccinations.
‘It’s busy. We don’t have enough confidence to send it overseas now, but I expect we can do that, ”said Biden without offering a timetable for the move.
In a subsequent reading of Biden’s appeal with Trudeau, the White House said the two leaders “agreed to continue efforts to contain the pandemic, work together on public health responses and global health security, and provide affordable access worldwide. and delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through the COVAX facility. “
No specific mention was made of any offer or discussion of vaccine dose sharing.
The US agreed in March to send 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which has yet to be approved in the US, to Mexico and Canada.
Biden announced in his speech on Wednesday that the US is about to deliver 200 million doses of vaccine, defeating his goal of doing so in his first 100 days in office. The White House expects sufficient vaccine doses to be available to every American adult by the end of May, even in light of the recent pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Biden is under pressure to do more to help other countries vaccinate their populations, with health experts warning that the coronavirus will not be completely extinguished until the world – not just the US – is fully vaccinated.
The White House has insisted that the US will not share doses of approved vaccines with other countries until they have enough to vaccinate the adult US population.
Still, Biden is sending $ 4 billion in contributions to COVAX, the program that aims to vaccinate the populations of poorer countries.
Sending excess doses to other countries could significantly speed up the vaccination rate in places like Canada, where the introduction of vaccines has been bumpier than in the US.
Updated at 3:00 PM