President Biden
Joe BidenPompeo: Reentry with Iran would make the Middle East ‘less secure’ DNC prepares for interim push Biden struggles to unravel web of Trump immigration rules MORE is under increasing pressure to share US vaccine stock with the rest of the world.
The federal government has been collecting doses and expanding its supply to what is likely to become surplus as the rest of the world is struggling with shortages. The US has bought enough vaccines to immunize every adult in the country three times.
The supply is likely to increase.
This week, Biden announced that he had ordered the administration to purchase an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson.
The White House said the extra doses could be a backstop to potential production problems, help vaccinate children, or serve as booster doses if they become needed to combat variants of the virus.
If the deal were to be finalized, the deal wouldn’t be fulfilled until the second half of the year, but the US would get a total of 200 million shots of Johnson & Johnson, enough for 200 million people.
When asked about the widening divide between the U.S. and the rest of the world at the White House, Biden recognized the global nature of the pandemic, but said his goal is to get COVID-19 under control in America first. to get.
“This is not something that can be stopped by a fence, no matter how high you build a fence or a wall,” said Biden. So in the end we won’t be safe until the world is safe. We will first ensure that Americans are taken care of first, but then we will try to help the rest of the world. ‘
“When we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of the world,” added Biden, noting that the US has already pledged $ 4 billion to COVAX, the World Health Organization-led vaccine distribution program. in the whole world. world.
On Friday, Biden pledged to work with leaders of Australia, India and Japan to expand vaccine manufacturing and supply in Asia. The new commitment is designed to address vaccine shortages in Southeast Asia.
Still, government officials reiterated that the United States will not donate vaccines until the entire American population has been vaccinated, and did not say what threshold the country would set before considering exporting vaccines.
Experts and advocates of global health think the US has the ability to donate vaccines to other countries without significantly impacting their availability to Americans, but was unwilling to make such a plan.
“The world is currently facing a crisis in access to vaccines and the Biden administration has not yet established a clear framework or timeline for spreading excess vaccine doses while vaccinating the US domestic population,” said Sarah Swinehart, a spokeswoman for The ONE Campaign.
The global aid organization UNICEF, which is working with COVAX to deliver vaccines, has said countries that have vaccinated their own health workers and are most at risk should share vaccine doses with other countries.
In the US, demand is still outstripping supply, but that is starting to change. States are in line, and President Biden said he expects there will be enough supplies for any American who wants a vaccine by the end of May.
Speaking Thursday night, Biden said any adult can sign up for a vaccine by May 1.
But the pressure and frustration among the Allied nations is only increasing after the government said it has stored tens of millions of doses of an AstraZeneca-made vaccine.
The Trump administration has ordered 300 million doses of the vaccine, but clinical trial problems have held up its approval, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still awaiting additional data.
The vaccine is approved for emergency approval in the European Union and is the primary vaccine used by COVAX in poor countries. But while it hasn’t been approved in the US, officials from the Biden administration said they are holding the stock.
White House Coronavirus Coordinator Jeff Zients
Jeff ZientsSunday Shows Preview: Democrats Declare Victory Over COVID-19 Stimulus; Vaccination Efforts Provide Hope for Summer Five Things That Must Be Done To Get People Vaccinated Biden To Partner With ‘Quad’ Countries To Expand Access To Vaccines MORE told reporters that the US has a “small stock” of the AstraZeneca vaccine on hand so it can be ready for rapid distribution if the company gets FDA approval in the coming weeks.
“We are following the exact same process that we did with the other three now-approved vaccines; Moderna, Pfizer and J&J,” said Zients.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiBiden’s administration sends FEMA to the border amid the influx of migrant children Five Things That Must Be Done To Get People Vaccinated The White House Faces The Challenge Of Overcoming Hesitation Over GOP Vaccines MORE said the US has rejected all requests from other countries to share doses of their vaccines.
“There have been requests from a number of countries around the world that have requested doses from the United States, but we have not provided any doses from the US government,” Psaki said.
Psaki said the government is trying to cover all contingencies and make sure Americans come first.
“We want to make sure that we have maximum flexibility, that we are oversupplied and over-prepared, and that we have the ability to deliver vaccines – whatever the most effective – to the American public,” Psaki said. “There are still 1,400 people dying in our country every day and we need to focus on addressing that.”