Britain to give 100 million doses of vaccine to poor countries

KATHMANDU: JUNE 11 – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK will start providing vaccines to poor countries in the next few weeks. On the eve of the G7 summit, he said that 100 million more vaccines than needed would be distributed by next year.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden announced that half a billion Pfizer vaccines would be made available to 92 low- and middle-income countries and the African Union. The United Kingdom has said that 5 million vaccines will be made available by the end of September and another 25 million will be distributed by the end of this year.

Prime Minister Johnson said: “The success of the UK’s immunization program has enabled us to provide additional vaccines to those in need. “By doing so, we will be taking a big step towards overcoming the epidemic.”

He said he expected his fellow leaders to make a similar commitment at the G7 summit in Cornwall on Friday, adding that the world should be vaccinated by the end of next year. The group’s leaders are expected to collectively announce a billion vaccines to fight the epidemic. The United States and the United Kingdom, along with Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy, plan to expand vaccine production to meet that goal.

Speaking at Cornwall, President Biden said, “The United States will provide vaccines without any preconditions. Our vaccine grant does not include any pressure or potential exemptions to help us. We are doing this to save human lives.’

How will the vaccine be given as a grant?
This is not the first aid provided by the UK government in a global vaccination campaign. Earlier, it had provided 500 million pound to the world’s poorest countries, the Covax program.

He has also helped develop the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. Johnson suggested that the G7 leaders encourage other pharmaceutical companies to sell vaccines at purchase prices as the epidemic continues. One in five of the UK-subsidized vaccines will be distributed directly and through other coaxial systems, based on agreements with countries in need. -BBC