US President Joe Biden is expected to fall short of his commitment to ship 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad by the end of June because of regulatory and other hurdles, officials say as they announced new plans for sharing the shots globally.
The White House announced the final allocations for the doses, with 60 million shots going to the global COVAX vaccine sharing alliance and 20 million being directed to specific partners.
But fewer than 10 million doses have been shipped around the world, including 2.5 million doses delivered to Taiwan over the weekend and about 1 million doses delivered to Mexico, Canada and South Korea earlier this month.
Officials said that while the US-produced doses are ready, deliveries have been delayed due to US and recipient legal, logistical and regulatory requirements.
A White House official said shipments will go out as soon as countries are ready to receive the doses and the administration sorts out logistical complexities.
The excess doses are not needed in the US, where demand for vaccinations has plummeted in recent weeks as more than 177 million people have received at least one shot.
On May 17, Biden announced that "over the next six weeks, the United States of America will send 80 million doses overseas. This will be more vaccines than any country has actually shared to date - five times more than any other country - more than Russia and China, which have donated 15 million doses".
Earlier this month, Biden announced that on top of the 80 million, the US was purchasing 500 million doses from Pfizer to donate globally over the coming year, with the first deliveries expected in August.
Biden initially committed to providing other countries with all 60 million US-produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has yet to be authorised for use in the US but is widely approved around the world.
The AstraZeneca doses have been held up for export by a weeks-long safety review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Given declining domestic demand, Biden was expected to be able to meet the full 80 million commitment without the AstraZeneca doses.
The White House unveiled plans earlier this month for the first 25 million doses for export from existing federal stockpiles of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and some have already begun shipping.
On Monday, it revealed plans for 55 million more shots.
Through COVAX, the latest batch of doses will include about 14 million for Latin America and the Caribbean; approximately 16 million for Asia and the Pacific including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and Cambodia; and about 10 million for Africa, with countries selected in concert with the African Union.
About 14 million doses will be shared directly with Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia.
Australian Associated Press
