U.S. President Joseph Biden announced Monday the purchase and donation of 500 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, which will be delivered to 92 low- and middle-income countries.
The ad, made during his first visit as President to the United Kingdom for the G7 Summit, the President detailed that with "these Pfizer vaccines millions of lives will be saved around the world and they will be produced thanks to the power of American manufacturing".
He also explained that vaccine donations "do not include pressure for favors or possible concessions" with any country.
Biden indicated that for his government the donation of vaccines is "a responsibility" and it has "a humanitarian obligation" to save as many lives as it can; and he indicated that as long as the pandemic continues there is still a risk of new mutations of the virus.
He recalled the worldwide impact of COVID-19 on the economy, which increased instability and weakened governments.
According to a senior U.S. government official, the U.S. is well positioned to lead global response efforts against COVID-19, following the success of the President's "administration's effort to respond to the pandemic at home."
Through a press conference via telephone with different media outlets, the official detailed that after a little more than four months, 64 percent of American adults have been vaccinated with at least one dose and, "more importantly, we have fully vaccinated 53 percent of American adults. There are now 13 states that have 70 percent of adults with at least one vaccine."
He added that as a result, in communities and states across the country, the pandemic is declining. "In fact, since President Biden took office, cases are down more than 90 percent and deaths are down more than 85 percent.
"Our successful vaccination program is not only saving tens of thousands of lives, it is helping our economy recover strongly and is allowing tens of millions of Americans to get back to living their lives," he stressed.
In that regard, he noted that as the situation improves in the nation, the government can increasingly focus on driving progress to help end the pandemic worldwide through vaccine donations.
"First of all, it's the right thing to do. The United States has tragically lost more people to COVID-19 than any other country in the world - nearly 600,000 deaths. Americans have experienced the tragic human cost of this virus, and we want to do everything we can to prevent further tragic loss of life around the world," he stressed.
He also recalled that under President Biden's leadership, the U.S. has already contributed more to the UN COVAX initiative than any other country.
"We have worked with Japan, India and Australia to support manufacturing efforts, and have shared 4 million AstraZeneca doses with Canada and Mexico."
The official pointed out that 200 million of these Pfizer doses are expected to be shipped in August, with the remaining 300 million to be delivered during the first half of 2022.
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