WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2021) The United States is in discussions with various nations on sharing its excess supply of coronavirus vaccines and will announce the list of recipients soon, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
"We're talking to several countries already. We'll let you know that very shortly," Biden told reporters before embarking on a chopper ride to Pennsylvania to tout the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill he signed into law last week.
Biden's comments came after the United States partnered last week with Japan, India and Australia to expand global vaccine manufacturing capacity. The plan entailed the Biden administration committing to provide financial support for Biological E, a major vaccine manufacturer in India that will produce at least 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of 2022.
The effort seeks to partly mitigate the vaccine shortage in Southeast Asia and beyond while the Biden administration tries to immunize Americans first with the supplies it has before exporting any excess.
As of Friday, 13.5 percent of people in the United States who are 18 or older have been fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
