The United States will send at least 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to other countries by the end of June 2021, President Joe Biden said Monday May 16.
Twenty million doses are from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, Biden said. He previously agreed to share up to 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine, which has not been authorized for emergency use in the U.S by the Food and Drug Administration.
"We're taking another step to help the world," Biden said. "It's the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do."
The announcements come as the U.S. and other developed nations face increasing criticism for monopolizing vaccines while the developing world struggles. Demand in the U.S. has stalled in recent weeks, and vaccine "hesitancy" is blamed for a steady decline in jabs.
Biden said Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, will lead the global vaccination effort. The U.S. will work with COVAX, a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.
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