A health worker applies a vaccine against Sinovac’s CoronaVac coronavirus (COVID-19) to an elderly man in Sao Goncalo near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 18, 2021.
Ricardo Moraes | Reuters
President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Friday that the US will spend $ 4 billion on international Covid vaccination efforts, White House officials said.
Biden, during his first virtual meeting as president with G7 leaders, will also urge other countries to pledge more money for the global fight against the pandemic, officials said in a conference call to reporters on Thursday afternoon.
“This pandemic is not going to end unless we end it worldwide,” one official said, pointing out that the vaccination of Americans remains the government’s “highest priority”.
“But pandemics travel,” the official said, and “the more disease there is, the greater the chance that we will see additional mutations and variants.”
The funds were appropriated by Congress as part of the Covid Assistance Bill, which was signed in late December with overwhelming bipartisan support, despite former President Donald Trump calling the package a ‘disgrace’.
The Biden government plans to contribute half the amount of $ 4 billion ‘almost immediately’ to the non-profit global vaccine union Gavi, an official said.
Gavi is a co-leader of COVAX, an international initiative aimed at increasing access to Covid vaccines. The initial $ 2 billion delivery from the United States aims to boost access to Covid vaccine for 92 low- and middle-income economies, backed by COVAX’s advancement market commitment.
The government plans to distribute the remaining $ 2 billion in phases until 2022, officials said, with the aim of encouraging other donors to increase their contributions.
“We basically want to turn it into a way to translate $ 2 billion into a few billion dollars,” an official said on the call, setting a target of at least $ 15 billion for “what is likely to be needed. providing the vaccine around the world. “
The government has stressed that the funds that are globally focused will have no impact on the US vaccination program. Officials have said that if Congress passes the additional bill on Covid driven by Biden and Democratic lawmakers, they expect to receive enough vaccine provision to achieve their goals.
“If there is a sufficient supply available, it is our intention to donate surplus vaccines abroad,” an official said.
An official was asked to explain the importance of supporting global vaccination efforts: ‘In addition to saving many lives … it is also the right thing to do from a national security and economic perspective to help everyone in America benefit. ‘