1 of 3 | Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The White House announced it has shipped 400 million COVID-19 vaccines to other countries. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI |
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Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The United States has shared more than 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses around the world, the White House said Wednesday.
Vaccines have been sent to 112 countries for free, Jeff Zients, President Joe Biden's White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said during a press conference Wednesday.
"Today, we will hit a major milestone in our global effort," he said.
This week, the United States sent about 3.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Bangladesh and 4.7 million doses to Pakistan -- the largest single donation given to one country.
The vaccines are shared by COVAX, the World Health Organization initiative to bring COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries.
"COVAX has given the world the best way to ensure the fastest, most equitable rollout of safe and effective vaccines to all at-risk people in every country on the planet," WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
WHO has been asking countries to join while admonishing so-called vaccine nationalism, where wealthy governments rush to inoculate their entire populations ahead of people in poorer nations.
Zients also announced at the press conference that 70% of seniors and half of eligible adults in the United States have received booster shots. He added that this was "significant progress."
"Vaccines remain our single most powerful tool," Zients concluded.