Joe Biden Praised for 'Bold Leadership' to End Pandemic After Reports U.S. to Donate 500M COVID Shots

Ninety-two lower-income countries and the African Union are set to receive a donation of 500 million more doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the United States, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

President Joe Boden was scheduled on Thursday to announce the U.S. would share the doses through the global COVAX alliance in a speech before the start of the Group of Seven (G7) summit. Enough doses to fully protect 100 million people, about 200 million, would be shared this year, and the balance would be donated in the first half of 2022, according to the AP's source.

Global public health groups planned to use the G7 meetings in Cornwall, England, to urge the world's richest democracies to advance vaccine sharing with the world.

Biden was praised for his administration's leadership on global vaccine distribution.

"The Biden administration's decision to purchase and donate additional COVID-19 vaccine doses is the kind of bold leadership that is needed to end this global pandemic," said Tom Hart, acting CEO at The ONE Campaign, a nonprofit that seeks to end poverty. "This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America's commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic and the immense power of US global leadership."

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that Biden was committed to sharing vaccines because it was in the public health and strategic interests of the U.S. As Biden embarks on his first foreign trip, he is aiming to show "that democracies are the countries that can best deliver solutions for people everywhere."

"As he said in his joint session (address), we were the 'arsenal of democracy' in World War II," Sullivan said. "We're going to be the 'arsenal of vaccines' over this next period to help end the pandemic."

The news of the Pfizer sharing plan was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the president's formal announcement. The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

The U.S. has faced mounting pressure to outline its global vaccine sharing plan. Inequities in supply around the world have become more pronounced, and the demand for shots in the U.S.—where nearly 64 percent of adults have received at least one dose—has dropped precipitously.

The announcement comes a week after the White House unveiled its plans to donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas, mostly through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for South and Central America, Asia, Africa and others at a time of glaring shortages abroad.

Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX. Officials say a quarter of the nation's excess will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.

The White House has also directed doses to allies including South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Globally, there have been more than 3.7 million confirmed deaths from COVID-19, and more than 174 million people have been confirmed infected.