Biden-Harris Administration to Donate 500 Million COVID-19 Vaccines to Low-Income Nations

On Thursday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced the United States will purchase and donate 500 million Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union to support the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccines are anticipated to begin shipping in August 2021, and the U.S. will work through COVAX to deliver them. 200 million doses will be delivered by the end of this year and the remaining 300 million will be delivered in the first half of 2022.

Relatedly, the Biden-Harris Administration, in partnership with other G7 and guest countries, outlined a series of global health actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the donation of 500 million COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. will be providing hundreds of millions of dollars in support of programs that provide assistance to counties and health systems prepare for vaccination efforts around the world, including in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The U.S. is also assisting with personal protective equipment and emergency medical supplies, global vaccine supply expansions, surge capacity efforts.

The Administration also identified a handful of domestic actions to advance global health security to prevent future biological catastrophes, including by establishing disease surveillance and early warning systems, creating a global health security financing mechanism, and investing in global recovery from COVID-19.

Additional information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions are available here.