The CCA virus (Wuhan pneumonia, COVID-19) vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, AZ. (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House said Monday (April 26) that the United States will begin sharing its entire inventory of AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine with other countries once it passes federal security clearance, with up to 60 million doses of AZ vaccine expected to be available for export in the coming months.
The move would significantly expand the Biden administration’s vaccine sharing initiative. The U.S. just last month shared about four million doses of AZ vaccine with Mexico and Canada, but has been keeping most of its stockpile as a reserve. Although AstraZeneca’s vaccine is widely used in some countries, it has not yet been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to media reports, dozens of people have died from blood clots in the UK and some countries after receiving this vaccine.
Jeff Zients, leader of the White House Task Force on Responses to Chinese Communist Viruses (Wuhan and New Coronavirus), said Monday, “Given the robust portfolio of vaccines already available and authorized by the FDA in the United States, and the fact that the AZ vaccine is not authorized for use in the United States, we do not need to use the vaccine domestically for the next several months. Therefore, the U.S. is looking at sharing options with other countries when the AZ vaccine becomes available for use.”
Zients told the Associated Press that there are currently about 10 million doses of AZ vaccine in stock in the U.S. and about another 50 million in various stages of production that could be shipped in May and June, pending FDA approval. The vaccines were reportedly produced at the Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore, Maryland, which has produced millions of doses of the contaminated Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The U.S. has not yet finalized which countries will receive the vaccines. In addition, countries receiving the vaccine will not have to pay for it.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki later confirmed the news at a briefing. She said that the vaccine already licensed in the United States is of high quality and that in the absence of an AZ vaccine authorized for administration in the United States, “we don’t need to use AstraZeneca to fight COVID in the coming months.”
White House officials said there are enough, FDA-approved vaccines available for Americans to use, even though Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was recently ordered to be stopped for nearly two weeks because of blood clots that developed after the vaccination.
As of Monday, nearly 29 percent of Americans had been fully vaccinated, and more than 53 percent of the adult population had received at least one dose of one of the three vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. U.S. authorities expect to have enough vaccine available to supply their entire population by early this summer.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has faced pressure to share more vaccines with other countries, including India, which is experiencing a surge in the virus, and countries that have not yet secured enough doses to protect high-risk populations.
Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
According to a White House readout, Biden pledged a range of emergency assistance to India amid a surge in cases, including: oxygen equipment, vaccine materials and treatment drugs. The United States will send raw materials to India to enable the country to produce its own AZ vaccine, rapid testing supplies, personal protective equipment and respirators, Psaki said.
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