WASHINGTON DC: The White House said that the United States of America has decided to share its entire stock of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with the world once the vaccine federal clears safety reviews. The announcement established that as many as 60 million doses are expected to be available for export in the coming months.
The US has vaccinated more than 53 per cent of its adult population with at least one dose of its three authorized vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and it expects to have enough supply for its entire population by early summer. Moreover, about 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been produced but are yet to pass review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for which it will need to meet its expectations for product quality. About 50 million more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are currently in various stages of production and are expected to be available for shipping in May or June this year, after attaining the pending FDA approval.
More than 3 million people worldwide have died of COVID-19 and the USA has been experiencing mounting pressure in recent weeks to share more of its vaccine supply with the world, because countries like India are experiencing devastating surges of the virus and struggling to make COVID-19 vaccine doses accessible to its people and protect them. Jeff Zients, COVID-19 coordinator at the White House, said that the nation is yet to finalise where the AstraZeneca vaccine doses will go.