US to donate 500 million doses of vaccine to 92 countries

US President Joe Biden on June 11 announced that the United States would purchase and donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to 92 countries, including Laos, the US Embassy to Laos said.
Shipping of the vaccines will start in August 2021. Some 200 million doses will be delivered by the end of this year and the remaining 300 million will be delivered in the first half of 2022.
The US will allocate and deliver these vaccines to low and lower-middle income nations around the world through COVAX a global initiative that distributes Covid-19 shots to low- and middle-income countries. The COVAX programme is led by the World Health Organisation and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
The US said its donation would help supercharge the global fight against the pandemic.
The US announcement came as countries around the world are escalating their actions to fight the pandemic.
Globally, the virus has claimed more than 3.8 million lives with the total number of infections rising to more than 176.3 million.
In Laos, the virus has killed three people while the total number of cases stood at 1,996 as of Sunday.
The Lao government is intensifying action to contain the Covid-19 virus.
Lao authorities attach great important to the vaccination programme as a weapon for effective control of the outbreak, and everyone is being encouraged to get vaccinated.
As of June 11, some 712,793 people in Laos had received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 385,921 people had been given their second dose.
Four types of vaccine – Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sputnik V –are being administered in Laos.
 The government has set an ambitious target to inoculate 50 percent (more than three million people) of the population by the end of 2021.
 To fulfil this target, the government has mobilised all resources to support the vaccination programme.
 It has encouraged private companies that are considering buying vaccines to inoculate their employees, and several businesses have contributed in this regard.
 But the government has not given the green light to any business for the import of vaccines for commercial distribution.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update June 14, 2021)