The U.S. will donate an additional 500 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to lower-income countries, following a donation by Pfizer and BioNTech to the U.S. government.
These developments represent an expansion of the country’s agreement with companies to provide extra doses.
”Our partnership with the U.S. government will help bring hundreds of millions of doses of our vaccine to the poorest countries around the world as quickly as possible,” Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said in a press release. “COVID-19 has impacted everyone, everywhere, and to win the battle against this pandemic, we must ensure expedited access to vaccines for all.”
This brings the total number of doses donated to 1 billion, allocating the vaccine to 92 low and lower-middle income countries and 55 member states of the African Union, CNBC reports.
In the U.S., just over 64% of residents above the age of 12 have been fully vaccinated, though low-income countries report only 2% of their populations have received at least one dose, CNBC states.
The doses donated under the agreement are expected to be finished with delivery by the end of next September, according to CNBC. Delivery of the initial 500 million doses began in August.