President Biden told White House reporters Wednesday (April 21) that the United States is working to provide other countries with the new coronavirus vaccine they so desperately want to have available.
In prepared remarks, President Biden announced that the United States has received 200 million doses of the New Coronavirus vaccine. After the speech, he was asked about assisting other countries.
“We’re in the process of doing that. We’ve done a little bit on that,” Biden replied. “We’re looking at what to do with some of the vaccines that we’re not using. We want to make sure they can be delivered safely, and we want to bring some help and value to countries around the world.”
President Biden said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the phone Wednesday and discussed the issue for about half an hour.
“We offered them a little bit of help. And we will seek to provide more help,” Biden said. “But there are other countries that I’m confident we can help as well, including Central America.”
But President Biden said, “We still have enough right now for us to feel confident that we can send abroad right now.”
The Biden administration has committed $4 billion to the Global New Coronavirus Access Facility (COVAX) to help provide vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, and the Biden administration has pledged to transfer millions of doses of AstraZeneca vaccine not yet authorized for use in the United States to neighboring Canada and Mexico.
Biden’s comments to help other countries were preceded by a prepared statement read before the cameras announcing that the United States had achieved a feat never before achieved during a new coronavirus pandemic or during any previous virus immunization initiative: 200 million doses of vaccine administered in 100 days.
“This is an amazing accomplishment for our country,” President Biden said. He added that it was achieved on his 92nd day in office.
The president also called on all employers in the United States to grant employees leave to get vaccinated.
He said, “No working American should lose a single dollar of pay for choosing to fulfill his or her patriotic duty to get vaccinated.”
The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that most companies can now “receive a tax credit for providing each employee with paid leave to get vaccinated or to allow them to take the time off necessary to recover from the vaccination.”
Asking for help
The United States and other wealthy countries have been criticized for buying most of the world’s supply of the new vaccine crown.
However, even many developed countries are experiencing vaccine shortages and asking Washington for support.
Seoul believes South Korea should be among the first countries to receive help from its longtime ally, the United States.
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told reporters earlier Wednesday, “We have been emphasizing to the United States that a friend in need is a true friend.”
Jung mentioned that at the beginning of the outbreak, the Seoul government flew a large number of new coronavirus test kits and masks to the U.S. “in the spirit of the special Korea-U.S. alliance,” although domestic supplies were also limited in South Korea.
“Countries that are now vaccinating people who are younger, healthier and at low risk of disease are doing so on behalf of the lives of health workers, older and other at-risk groups in other countries,” World Health Organization Director General Ted Tamsay said last month. He accused rich countries of being responsible for the deaths of people at high risk in low- and middle-income countries.
The United States has defended its position of taking care of its own citizens first. The U.S. pointed out that its own country has the highest number of deaths notified by any country.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 568,000 people have died from the new coronavirus in the United States, and more than 31 million Americans have been infected with the virus.
There have also been calls for the Biden administration to pressure vaccine developers and manufacturers to share their technology with other companies so that more vaccines can be produced in other countries.
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