U.S. to Share AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Doses With World -- 2nd Update
26 April 2021 - 9:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Sabrina Siddiqui
The U.S. government plans to share as many as 60 million doses
of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with the rest of the world, the
White House said Monday.
"The administration is looking at options to share American-made
AstraZeneca vaccine doses during the next few months," White House
press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that the U.S. was confident
in its supply of other available vaccines. "Given AstraZeneca is
not authorized for use in the United States, we do not need to use
AstraZeneca in our fight against Covid over the next few
months."
Ms. Psaki said the Food and Drug Administration would confirm
that all AstraZeneca doses meet safety expectations before they are
shipped from the U.S.
The Biden administration has faced growing pressure to share
vaccine doses with developing countries and other nations that have
been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic. A surge in India, which
for the fifth consecutive day set a record for the world's largest
single-day increase in new cases, prompted calls for the U.S. to
share its AstraZeneca supply with the Indian government as the
latter struggles to vaccinate its population.
AstraZeneca declined to comment on whether it was consulted on
the decision. "The doses are part of AstraZeneca's supply
commitments to the U.S. government," a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca
said in an email. "Decisions to send U.S. supply to other countries
are made by the U.S. government."
The Biden administration said last month it would share roughly
four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with Mexico and
Canada. The White House said at the time those doses would be seen
as a loan, with the expectation that the nations would send doses
to the U.S. later.
The Biden administration has said it has secured enough doses to
inoculate the eligible U.S. population. But officials have said the
U.S. needs to hold on to additional doses for possible booster
shots and for when the vaccine is authorized for children.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have turned from managing a flood of
interest in the vaccines to persuading those who are unsure about
getting it. The U.S. weekly average of vaccine doses administered,
which has been generally rising since mid-December, ticked down
recently.
AstraZeneca has encountered setbacks in meeting its supply
agreements. The European Union said Monday that it was suing
AstraZeneca for failure to deliver on its Covid-19 vaccine
contract.
Reported cases of rare blood clotting in Europe raised concerns
recently about the AstraZeneca vaccine's safety. European
regulators have said the benefits of using the vaccine outweigh its
potential risks, but they recommended that EU governments add a
warning to the vaccine's product information.
Joseph Walker contributed to this article.
Write to Sabrina Siddiqui at Sabrina.Siddiqui@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 26, 2021 14:48 ET (18:48 GMT)
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