US Announces Deal To Bring Covid Vaccines To Conflict Zones
In a virtual ministerial meeting on the pandemic, Blinken said the United States had worked with Covax on providing the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shots to areas of conflict and other humanitarian distress.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced a deal to bring Covid-19 vaccines into conflict zones, where paltry numbers of people have been inoculated.
In a virtual ministerial meeting on the pandemic, Blinken said the United States had worked with Covax, the international vaccine alliance to support developing nations, on providing the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shots to areas of conflict and other humanitarian distress.
"We're eager for people in these difficult circumstances to get protection against Covid-19 as soon as possible," Blinken said.
"We know the urgency of this fight. We know what we need to do to stop the pandemic. Now, we've got to do it," he said.
Gavi, the public-private partnership that co-leads Covax, said that the United States brokered an agreement to waive indemnification requirements on the Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Manufacturers have required governments to pay any legal penalties for incidents from vaccination, creating hurdles for poor nations and especially for aid groups operating in conflict zones.
"We warmly welcome the US government's role in helping broker the agreement between J&J and Covax," a Gavi spokesperson said in Geneva.
The spokesperson called on other vaccine manufacturers to join Johnson & Johnson and China's Sinovac in waiving indemnification requirements for humanitarian agencies.
Details on how many doses would be distributed were not immediately announced.
More than four billion vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
But the vast majority have gone to wealthy countries as well as China and India with inoculation rates minimal in sub-Saharan Africa.
President Joe Biden in September announced that the United States will donate more than one billion doses around the world to help defeat the pandemic with a goal of fully vaccinating at least 70 percent of the global population within a year.
In a virtual ministerial meeting on the pandemic, Blinken said the United States had worked with Covax, the international vaccine alliance to support developing nations, on providing the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shots to areas of conflict and other humanitarian distress.
"We're eager for people in these difficult circumstances to get protection against Covid-19 as soon as possible," Blinken said.
"We know the urgency of this fight. We know what we need to do to stop the pandemic. Now, we've got to do it," he said.
Gavi, the public-private partnership that co-leads Covax, said that the United States brokered an agreement to waive indemnification requirements on the Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Manufacturers have required governments to pay any legal penalties for incidents from vaccination, creating hurdles for poor nations and especially for aid groups operating in conflict zones.
"We warmly welcome the US government's role in helping broker the agreement between J&J and Covax," a Gavi spokesperson said in Geneva.
The spokesperson called on other vaccine manufacturers to join Johnson & Johnson and China's Sinovac in waiving indemnification requirements for humanitarian agencies.
Details on how many doses would be distributed were not immediately announced.
More than four billion vaccines have been administered worldwide, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
But the vast majority have gone to wealthy countries as well as China and India with inoculation rates minimal in sub-Saharan Africa.
President Joe Biden in September announced that the United States will donate more than one billion doses around the world to help defeat the pandemic with a goal of fully vaccinating at least 70 percent of the global population within a year.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
