Pres. Joe Biden Plans to Share 20 Million COVID Vaccine Doses Abroad

By Mary Webber (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: May 17, 2021 08:49 PM EDT

Vials containing doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are viewed at a clinic targeting minority community members at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on April 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. St. John's Well Child and Family Center is administering COVID-19 vaccines  in churches across South L.A. in a broad effort to bring vaccines to minority  communities. (Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images)

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Monday his intention to send out 20 million COVID vaccine doses abroad by the end of June.

The 20 million U.S.-approved COVID vaccines is on top of the previous commitment to share 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to other countries needing. This makes the overall COVID vaccine doses handout 80 million, according to an NBC News report.

Biden said during his White House speech that the U.S. vaccination program has led the world, adding that by sharing vaccine doses they are helping the world.

Meanwhile, it is not yet specified which countries will receive the vaccine doses. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration will decide on it and announce more details in the coming days.

However, AstraZeneca is still pending approval for use.

Mexico and Canada have already doses of the U.S. AstraZeneca stockpile, while Pfizer has started to ship its vaccine doses to countries like Mexico, Canada, and Uruguay, which is apart from the Biden's administration's plans, according to an Aljazeera report.

Global Vaccination Inequality

The World Health Organization has noted that there is a huge disparity in the distribution of COVID vaccines between rich and poor countries.

The WHO has long called for a more equal distribution of COVID vaccines, according to a BBC News report.

The health organization has also been leading the COVAX design, which aims to distribute more vaccine doses to poorer nations. Under the program, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries.

The COVAX scheme aims to deliver 100 million doses worldwide by the end of march.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that almost one in four people have already received their first vaccine on average when it comes to high-income countries.

The WHO head added that one in more than 500 is the case for low-income countries.

Tedros said they are hoping to catch up on the distribution to meet their goal.

Philip Clarke, a professor of health economics at the University of Oxford, echoed Tedros' sentiments.

Clarke said that the clear failure is not having stronger international institutions and funding to pay for vaccines globally, according to another NBC News report.

Meanwhile, Dr. Natalie Roberts, director of studies at Doctors Without Borders, took jab at the COVAX scheme, noting that COVAX does not have the power it needs.

Roberts added that it does not have the money it needs and it is too slow as governments like the U.S. have already made their deals quickly.

U.S. Vaccination Efforts

Biden said that nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults have already received at least one shot. He added that COVID cases are declining in all 50 states for the first time since the pandemic started.

The current U.S. situation put a pressure on the country to play a huge role in the global vaccination effort after India and South America struggle with COVID cases rising in these areas.

Biden said that their vaccine doses sharing will be more than any country has actually handed out.

WATCH: Biden to Send 20 Million U.S.-Authorized Vaccines Abroad for First Time - from Bloomberg Quicktake: Now

Tags joe biden, covid vaccine doses, abroad