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In the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the G-7 countries want to make at least one billion vaccine doses available to other countries. To this end, both already produced vaccine doses should be distributed and the production of more should be financed, the British government announced in the night to today. Accordingly, the heads of state and government also want to work out a plan to expand vaccine production.
The U.K. is chairing this year’s group of seven leading industrialized nations, which will meet Friday through Sunday in Cornwall, southwest England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his country would contribute 100 million doses of vaccine from its surplus, the majority through the Covax vaccine initiative. Five million doses would be made available to the poorest countries by the end of September, and the remaining 95 million would be made available over the course of the coming year.
Johnson: Could vaccinate population multiple times through
The U.K. had stockpiled so much vaccine that it could use it to vaccinate its population several times over. Until now, the country has hardly exported any vaccines – prompting sharp criticism.
“Because of the UK’s successful vaccination program, we are now able to share some of our surplus doses with those who need them,” Johnson said. This is an important step toward defeating the virus, he said. The U.K. has taken the lead in the fight against the pandemic by developing and funding AstraZeneca’s vaccine, Johnson said. So far, more than half a billion doses, distributed at cost, have been injected in 160 countries worldwide, he said.
Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would donate a total of 500 million vaccine doses by the end of June 2022 at the latest.
— source: ORF.at/agencies/picture: pixabay.com
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