Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Biden administration to buy 500 mn Covid-19 vaccines to donate to low-income nations

Biden administration to buy 500 mn Covid-19 vaccines to donate to low-income nations

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden is set to announce plans on Thursday (10) to buy and donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to more than 90 countries while calling on the world's democracies to do their part to help end the deadly pandemic, the White House said.

Biden will announce the vaccine donation, the largest ever by a single country,  ahead of his meeting with leaders of the other G7 nations- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan- in Cornwall, England.


"The goal of today’s donation is to save lives and end the pandemic and will provide the foundation for additional actions to be announced in the coming days," the White House said. 

The new donations come on top of some 80 mn doses Washington has already pledged to donate by the end of June, and $2 bn in funding earmarked for the COVAX program led by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the White House said.

Washington is also taking steps to support local production of Covid-19 vaccines in other countries, including through its Quad initiative with Japan, India and Australia.

"President Biden has been clear that borders cannot keep this pandemic at bay and has vowed that our nation will be the arsenal of vaccines," the White House said.

The US donations will go through the COVAX program to 92 low and lower-middle-income countries and the African Union, with 200 million doses to be delivered by the end of the year, and the rest in the first half of 2022. Shipments will begin in August, the White House said.

The donation was negotiated over the past four weeks by White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients and the coronavirus task force team, a source familiar with the matter said.

Talks are also on Moderna Inc about buying some of its shots to donate to other countries.

The pandemic has killed about 3.9 million people around the world, with the infection reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Biden's announcement comes amid mounting pressure for the US, which has now given at least one shot to around 64 per cent of its adult population, to boost donations of Covid-19 shots to other countries that are desperately seeking doses.

Top officials at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank warned that huge disparities in vaccination rates could prolong the pandemic, slowing a global economic recovery, and raising the risk that more deadly potentially vaccine-resistant- variants will emerge.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less