Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US To Boost COVAX Supply By 25M Doses In First Global Vaccine Donation
Politico: Biden Admin Reveals Plans For First 25 Million Donated Vaccine Doses
After weeks of internal deliberations, the Biden administration finally announced Thursday which countries will share in the first Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by the U.S. to help end the pandemic. The U.S. will route a total of 25 million doses to countries overseas. About 19 million doses — roughly 75 percent — through the global vaccine aid program COVAX, the White House said Wednesday. The Biden administration will send the remaining 25 percent of the doses directly to specific countries. (Banco, 6/3)
NPR: U.S. Lays Out Plans For How It Will Share Surplus COVID-19 Vaccines Abroad
The Biden administration has previously said it would share 80 million doses by the end of June. "We know that won't be sufficient," said Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response. But he said it's an important step toward boosting global production and trying to end the global pandemic. "We expect a regular cadence of shipments around the world across the next several weeks. And in the weeks ahead, working with the world's democracies we will coordinate a multilateral effort, including the G-7, to combat and end the pandemic," Zients said. . (Keith, 6/3)
CBS News: How The U.S. Will Allocate Its First 25 Million COVID Vaccine Doses Worldwide
Specifically, of the 19 million doses being distributed through COVAX, about 6 million will go to Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Roughly 7 million doses will head to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. And about 5 million doses will be given to Africa, coordinated by the African Union. The 6 million doses given directly by the U.S. will go to Mexico, Canada, the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, and to United Nations frontline workers. The U.S. has already shared 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine with neighboring Canada and Mexico. (Watson, 6/3)
In related news about sharing vaccines —
AP: Japan Donates 1.24M Vaccine To Taiwan Amid China Influence
A flight carrying 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan touched down in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport on Friday to help the island fight its largest outbreak since the pandemic began. The donation underscores how geopolitics have come to impact the global vaccination rollout, as countries scramble to secure enough vaccines for their populations. Taiwan, a self-governing island, has struggled to get its own vaccines, blaming China for interfering in a deal. Now the island is more than doubling its vaccine supply thanks to Tokyo, as Japan tries to play a greater role in global vaccination distribution while pushing to accelerate its painfully slow vaccine rollouts at home ahead of the Olympics in July. (Yamaguchi and Wu, 6/4)
AP: Denmark Donating Unused AZ Jabs To Kenya
Denmark will donate 358,700 unused vaccine doses to Kenya, saying the batch of Astra Zeneca that expires July 31 should be delivered as soon as possible. It is part of the 3 million doses that Denmark has earmarked for donation this year. “No one is safe until everyone is safe,” Denmark’s Foreign Aid Minister Flemming Moeller Mortensen said in a statement. “Kenya is in a difficult situation as they have received far fewer vaccines than they should have had.” (6/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Europe Pushes Alternative To Waiving Patents On Covid-19 Vaccines
The European Union is pushing back hard against U.S.-backed calls to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, preparing a rival plan that officials said would better safeguard drug companies’ patents and look for other ways to boost supplies for developing countries. As the gap between vaccine haves and have-nots has widened, Washington and China have endorsed a proposal by developing countries at the World Trade Organization to suspend patent protections for the immunizations. (Shah and Steinhauser, 6/3)
