WHO,Indian-American welcomes US donation of vaccine doses

The United States will share 20 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses with other countries, taking the total number of such shots to 80 million, President Joe Biden said on Monday. "Over the next six weeks, the United States of America will send 80 million doses overseas. That represents 13 per cent of the vaccines produced by the US by the end of June. This will be more vaccine doses than any country has actually shared to date, five times more than any other country. More than Russia and China, which have donated 15 million doses," Biden told reporters at a news conference.

"There's a lot of talk about Russia and China influencing the world with vaccines. We want to lead the world with this demonstration of our innovation, ingenuity, and the fundamental decency of the American people. Just as in World War II, America was the arsenal of democracy, in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, our nation is going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world. We'll share these vaccines in the service of ending the pandemic everywhere," he said.

Biden's announcement was welcomed by US lawmakers and Indian-American community leaders. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that a decision on which countries would receive these vaccine doses would be taken in due course. The head of the World Health Organization hailed news on Monday that US President Joe Biden will send at least 20 million more Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad by the end of June, marking the first time the United States is sharing vaccines authorised for domestic use.