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The United States has donated and delivered more than 110 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 to more than 60 countries, including some Latin American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador, among others, the White House announced Tuesday.
President Joe Biden will provide more details on these donations in a speech.
This announcement comes amid reports that the country has millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine that are likely to expire before the end of the summer without being used, as vaccination numbers have been stagnating.
In its press release, the White House took the announcement to heart and assured that, according to UN data, the United States is the country that has donated the most vaccines in the world.
Back in June, Biden pledged to deliver at least 80 million vaccines to other nations and assured that he would continue to share doses whenever and wherever possible.
The United States recalled that most of the doses shared to date, manufactured in the country, have been sent through the COVAX mechanism, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to data provided by the White House, the Latin American countries that have received the most doses so far are Colombia (6 million), Guatemala (4.5 million), Mexico (4.04 million), Argentina (3.5 million), Honduras (3 million) and El Salvador (3 million).
The donated vaccines are approved for domestic use in the USA — those of Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson — and are in addition to another 60 million doses that Washington already donated in May from AstraZeneca, which has not yet been approved by regulators.
Meanwhile, the immunization campaign has stalled in the USA, where, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57.8% of the population has received at least one dose, and 49.7% the full course.
The target set by Biden of 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose of the vaccine was reached a month later than expected on Monday.
