More than 110 million Covid vaccines sent to 60 countries, Biden says

'There's a need for several billion doses,' US president says of collaboration with global Covax programme

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the pandemic at the White House. EPA

The US has donated and shipped more than 110 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to more than 60 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia, the White House announced on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden highlighted the milestone in remarks on the US strategy to slow the spread of coronavirus abroad, saying America has donated more doses of vaccine than the rest of the world combined to lower- and middle-income countries.

“Vaccinate America and help vaccinate the world,” Mr Biden said. “That’s how we’re going to beat this thing.”

The announcement comes amid a rise in infections in the US, fuelled by the highly contagious Delta strain, which led US public health officials last week to recommend that even people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 resume wearing face coverings in some public indoor settings.

Mr Biden has promised that the US will be the “arsenal of vaccines” for the world. While notable, the 110 million doses the US has donated largely through the global vaccine programme Covax represent just a fraction of what is needed worldwide.

“There's a need for several billion doses,” he said during his speech.

Scientists and the World Health Organisation suggest there may be a need for upwards of 10 to 11 billion doses to fully vaccinate the world.

Scientists worry that the longer the global population remains unvaccinated, the more the virus will spread and potentially mutate into stronger or vaccine-resistant forms.

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that at the end of August, the US will begin shipping 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that it has pledged to deliver to 100 low-income countries by June 2022.

The 110 million donated doses came from surplus US vaccine stock as the pace of domestic vaccinations slowed amid widespread vaccine hesitancy.

About 90 million Americans aged 12 and over have yet to receive one dose of vaccine.

Mr Biden had pledged to ship more than 80 million doses overseas by the end of June, but had only been able to send a fraction of that due to logistical and regulatory hurdles in recipient countries.

The pace of shipments picked up significantly through July.

“This is about our values,” he said of the donations, and added that they show how “democracies can deliver".

Under Mr Biden’s sharing plan, about 75 per cent of US doses are being sent through Covax, with the balance being sent to US partners and allies.

The White House insists that nothing is being sought in return for the shots, contrasting its approach to Russia and China, which it alleges have used access to their domestically produced vaccines as a tool of geopolitical leverage.

Mr Biden confirmed this in his remarks, saying “there are no demands and no conditions".