President Biden Announces Historic Vaccine Donation: Half a Billion Pfizer Vaccines to the World’s Lowest-Income Nations
Meanwhile, vaccination in the United States is slowing amid big case drop
President Biden and his administration's efforts on vaccinating the American people have turned the COVID pandemic around.
COVID cases are down 94 percent, while deaths are down 88 percent in the United States, according to new numbers reported by broadcaster and podcaster David Pakman.
The vaccination efforts of the Biden administration have, in many places, brought the spread of COVID down to “statistical zero,” Pakman said in another recent report.
“It's not literally zero cases, but it's statistically low enough where there's really no spread,” he said.
Unfortunately, there remain stubborn pockets in the country where people are refusing available vaccine.
A new report by ABC News indicates that vaccinations are slowing here. Some 13 states have met the benchmark where at least 70 percent of adults have received at least one dose. But a number of states are falling short. Mississippi, in particular, is a trouble spot.
And as this slowing takes place, vaccine goes unused.
It's within this glut of domestic supply-and-demand that Biden Thursday — as he makes his first trip abroad as president — will announce that the United States will purchase and donate half a billion Pfizer vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union, an historic action that the White House said will help “supercharge the global fight against the pandemic.”
This is the largest-ever purchase and donation of vaccines by a single country and a commitment by the American people to help protect people around the world from COVID-19.
Biden will also call on the world’s democracies to do their parts in contributing to the global supply of safe and effective vaccines. The goal of today’s donation is to save lives and end the pandemic and will provide the foundation for additional actions to be announced in the coming days, according to a White House fact sheet.
“Thanks to the success of our vaccination program, the United States is beating COVID-19 here at home. 64% of adult Americans have received at least one shot in just four and a half months, daily death rates are lower than at any point in the pandemic, and our economy is rebounding,” the fact sheet said. “Now, the United States is using the power of our democracy, the ingenuity of American scientists, and the strength of American manufacturing to beat the pandemic globally by helping to vaccinate the world.
“Today’s historic announcement comes on the heels of President Biden’s donation of at least 80 million vaccines from the United States’ supply by the end of June,” the fact sheet added. “Additionally, the United States has contributed two billion dollars to COVAX, more than any other nation—and is supporting local production capacity abroad for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through the Quad initiative.”