Biden to Buy 500 Million Vaccine Doses for Other Countries, But Billions More Needed to End Pandemic

President Biden’s plan to buy 500 million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine and donate them to 92 countries comes as health experts warn vaccination inequity could prolong the pandemic for everyone if the coronavirus continues to mutate, possibly making it more infectious and resistant to vaccines.

Africa’s CDC Director Dr. John Nkengasong has said people on the continent are watching in “amazement” as Americans turn down vaccines, many of which are now expiring instead of being sent elsewhere.

“Right now the game plan should be providing the surplus vaccines to countries around the world, because the pandemic is happening right now,” says Dr. Syra Madad, infectious disease epidemiologist who leads the Special Pathogens Program for NYC Health and Hospitals, the largest public healthcare system in the United States.

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