Delta is “by far” the worlds dominant coronavirus variant, a top World Health Organization scientist said Tuesday.

The global body downgraded its advisories on three other virus variants in a reflection of how delta is “outcompeting and replacing” everything else.

“Less than 1% of the sequences that are available right now are alpha, beta and gamma,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on covid-19, said in a video Q&A, referring to the three other variants the organization considers “of concern.”

“Of those four variants of concern, delta is, by far, the most transmissible,” Van Kerkhove added. “If delta is identified or starts to circulate in a country where there is beta . . . [delta] has quickly replaced the variant there.”

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The delta variant has appeared in 185 countries, as global coronavirus cases near 230 million and deaths surpass 4.7 million since the start of the pandemic.

The mu variant, which has been identified thousands of times in the United States and had raised concerns that it may be more resistant to vaccines than its sibling variants, is also being replaced in countries where delta is present, Van Kerkhove said. “Lambda and mu don’t seem to be dominant.”

By the end of July, delta had overpowered all its rivals in the United States. The “coronavirus pandemic in America has become a delta pandemic,” The Washington Post reported in August, noting that it accounted for 93.4% of new infections.

In the past four weeks, more than 98% of the coronavirus sequences submitted from the United States to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, a large database of novel coronavirus genome sequences in the world, were of the delta variant.

Separately on Tuesday, the WHO reclassified three other variants – eta, iota and kappa – to “monitoring” status, indicating that they “no longer pose a major added risk to global public health” as they are being outcompeted by delta.

“They are not taking hold,” Van Kerkhove said.

Ahead of a vaccination summit that President Biden is set to propose on Wednesday, the World Health Organization also said that the number of global coronavirus deaths and infections had declined in recent weeks, reflecting increased access to vaccines in rich and some middle-income nations even as developing economies scramble to immunize their populations.

Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, warned in the same video event that previous dips had been followed by sharp spikes, though he said that countries with high immunization rates had less to worry about. “It shows us that vaccines work,” he said.

Published : September 23, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006524

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the United States will double the number of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses it is donating to other countries, a step toward the goal of immunizing 70% of the worlds 8 billion people within the next year.

Biden made the pledge as he convened a virtual global summit of world leaders amid criticism that his administration has done too little to help nations with fewer resources.

Organizers said the conference would explore ways that all nations can cooperate to blunt a pandemic that has killed an estimated 4.5 million people and stunted economic growth around the globe.

“We’re not going to solve this crisis with half measures or middle-of-the-road ambitions,” Biden said at the White House.

“We need to go big, and we need to do our part” across governments, the private sector and charities, Biden said.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck crisis. And the good news is, we know how to beat this pandemic: vaccines, public health measures and collective action.”

The United States will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to donate to countries in need as part of what Biden said is an effort to become “the arsenal of vaccines, as we were the arsenal of democracy during World War II.”

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The Biden administration already purchased 500 million doses of the vaccine in July to be distributed in batches.

The doses would go to poorer countries through Covax, the initiative led by the World Health Organization, Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

“This is a monumental commitment by the United States, bringing our total number of donated vaccines to the world to more than 1.1 billion,” White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients and Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post on Wednesday. “For every one shot we’ve put in an American arm to date, we are now donating about three shots globally.”

The United States is the world leader in vaccine donations, Biden said, although he and other leaders of wealthy nations have been criticized for all but cornering markets for vaccines early on. Biden has also come under fire for welcoming booster shots for Americans while vaccination rates remain in single digits across most of Africa.

“Put another way, for every one shot we have administered to date in America, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world,” Biden said.

The WHO chief has called for a halt to boosters in rich countries for the rest of the year, to give other nations more chances to catch up.

Neither Biden nor United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressed critiques of the booster plan in the United States in their opening remarks heard by reporters.

“We can do both, and it’s a false choice,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the suggestion that rich nations should hold back.

“Our view also continues to be that, frankly, the rest of the world needs to step up and do more.”

The summit, which coincides with this week’s U.N. General Assembly meetings, was broken into four sessions.

Biden chaired the first session on the need to vaccinate the world, where he called on global leaders to fully vaccinate 70% of the world’s population by next September, The Post previously reported.

Participants included U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the leaders of Britain, Canada, South Africa and Indonesia, plus a representative from the European Union.

Biden stressed that the goal is “donating, not selling” vaccines and with no strings attached. That was a dig at China and Russia, which have sold vaccines.

Vice President Kamala Harris also announced that the United States would contribute $250 million toward a new World Bank fund intended to finance global health security initiatives and avert future outbreaks.

Harris said the Biden administration would seek an additional $850 million from Congress for the global fund and appealed to other nations to contribute as well.

“Unless we establish a new financing mechanism, in my view, we will never be fully prepared,” Harris said at the session.

Some advocates cheered Wednesday’s event as a needed turning point in the pandemic response and said they awaited further actions.

The summit was a “critical reset of the world’s ambition to end the pandemic once and for all, as quickly as possible,” said Carolyn Reynolds, co-founder of Pandemic Action Network, who spoke at the event. “We welcome President Biden’s plan to host another summit early next year to make sure the world is on track to achieve the summit goals and targets.”

But other advocacy groups like Oxfam America panned Biden’s event as insufficient and faulted the U.S. government for not doing more to pressure coronavirus vaccine manufacturers to immediately share their intellectual property with the developing world.

“While additional donations are always welcome, it’s hard not to see the summit as anything but a disappointment,” said Zain Rizvi, a researcher at Public Citizen. “The global vaccine effort cannot be relegated to a GoFundMe campaign.”

Published : September 23, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006483

Malaysians enjoyed a full moon on Tuesday night.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept. 21 this year, is a traditional Chinese festival with a custom of family reunion, and is now celebrated in several Asian countries.

A full moon is seen against the skyline of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 21, 2021. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

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A full moon is seen against the skyline of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 21, 2021. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 21, 2021 shows a full moon seen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)

Published : September 22, 2021

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European Council President Charles Michel also expressed concerns about the AUKUS agreement, demanding an explanation from Biden on why he misled France and other European partners in forging the new strategic agreement in the Indo-Pacific.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has described as “unacceptable” the way France was treated by Australia, Britain and the United States in their newly established security partnership AUKUS.

The European Commission chief expressed her dismay during an interview with CNN, in which she demanded explanations from U.S. President Joe Biden.
 

“There are a lot of open questions that have to be answered,” von der Leyen said. “One of our member states has been treated in a way that is not acceptable, so we want to know what happened and why. And therefore you first clarify that before you keep going with business as usual.”

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The deal was signed recently by the United States and Britain which will share nuclear submarine technology with Australia.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Elysee Palace in Paris June 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

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European Council President Charles Michel also expressed concerns about the AUKUS agreement, demanding an explanation from Biden on why he misled France and other European partners in forging the new strategic agreement in the Indo-Pacific.

He took to social media to say: “The AUKUS security partnership further demonstrates the need for a common EU approach in a region of strategic interest. A strong EU Indo-Pacific strategy is needed more than ever.”

European Council President Charles Michel (R) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) welcome U.S. President Joe Biden (C) at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 15, 2021. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua)

He then told reporters at the UN General Assembly: “With the new Joe Biden administration, America is back.” This was interpreted as questioning whether the U.S. had returned to the international table.

“What does it mean America is back? Is America back in America or elsewhere? We do not know,” he added.

Michel told journalists at the UN on Monday that the U.S. had demonstrated “lack of loyalty” after Australia cancelled the multi-billion-dollar deal with France on nuclear-powered submarines which it will now obtain from the U.S. and Britain.

“The elementary principles for allies are transparency and trust, and it goes together. And what do we observe? We are observing a clear lack of transparency and loyalty,” Michel told reporters.

He added that the Europeans need clarifications on this deal and would step up efforts to build their own defensive capabilities.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in New York on Monday that all EU countries should be worried about the contempt the United States has shown to its allies.

“Europeans must not be the rejections of the strategy chosen by the United States,” said Le Drian. “We are in this new state of mind, which means that the Europeans must identify their own strategic issues and discuss with the United States on this subject.”

Even EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell weighed in on the alliance during a press conference in New York following an informal EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting when they considered it “very disappointing.” He said the ministers expressed clear solidarity with France.

Borrell said he also met with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne in a planned meeting during which he inquired about the reasons behind the lack of prior consultation on AUKUS. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) talks with U.S. President Joe Biden after their meeting in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, Britain, on June 10, 2021. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Xinhua)

Published : September 22, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006480

“I am here to sound the alarm: The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss, and moving in the wrong direction,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly before the opening of the General Debate.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned that the world is on the edge of an abyss and moving in the wrong direction.

“I am here to sound the alarm: The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss, and moving in the wrong direction,” he told the General Assembly before the opening of the General Debate.

“Our world has never been more threatened, or more divided. We face the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetimes,” he said in his report to the assembly on the work of the world body.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has supersized glaring inequalities. The climate crisis is pummeling the planet. Upheaval from Afghanistan to Ethiopia to Yemen and beyond has thwarted peace. A surge of mistrust and misinformation is polarizing people and paralyzing societies. Human rights are under fire. Science is under assault. And economic lifelines for the most vulnerable are coming too little and too late — if they come at all. Solidarity is missing in action — just when the world needs it most, he said.

People receive the COVID-19 vaccine in a mobile vaccination unit in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

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On the one hand, the COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time, a victory of science and human ingenuity. On the other hand, triumph is being undone by the tragedy of a lack of political will, selfishness and mistrust: a majority of the wealthier world vaccinated, over 90 percent of Africans still waiting for their first dose.

“This is a moral indictment of the state of our world. It is an obscenity. We passed the science test. But we are getting an F in ethics,” said Guterres.

The climate alarm bells are also ringing at a fever pitch, he said.

“Climate scientists tell us it’s not too late to keep alive the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. But the window is rapidly closing. We need a 45 percent cut in emissions by 2030. Yet a recent UN report made clear that with present national climate commitments, emissions will go up by 16 percent by 2030,” he said. “That would condemn us to a hellscape of temperature rises of at least 2.7 degrees above pre-industrial levels. A catastrophe.”

COVID-19 and the climate crisis have exposed profound fragilities as societies and as a planet, he said. “Yet instead of humility in the face of these epic challenges, we see hubris. Instead of the path of solidarity, we are on a dead end to destruction.”

At the same time, another disease is spreading in the world today: a malady of mistrust, he said.

“The people we serve and represent may lose faith not only in their governments and institutions, but in the values that have animated the work of the United Nations for over 75 years: peace, human rights, dignity for all, equality, justice, solidarity. Like never before, core values are in the crosshairs.”

A breakdown in trust is leading to a breakdown in values. Promises, after all, are worthless if people do not see results in their daily lives, he warned. “Failure to deliver creates space for some of the darkest impulses of humanity. It provides oxygen for easy fixes, pseudo-solutions and conspiracy theories. It is kindling to stoke ancient grievances, cultural supremacy, ideological dominance, violent misogyny, the targeting of the most vulnerable including refugees and migrants.”

It is a moment of truth. Now is the time to deliver. Now is the time to restore trust. Now is the time to inspire hope, said Guterres. “And I do have hope. The problems we have created are problems we can solve. Humanity has shown that we are capable of great things when we work together. That is the raison d’etre of our United Nations.”

But he cautioned that today’s multilateral system is too limited in its instruments and capacities, in relation to what is needed for effective governance of managing global public goods. It is too fixed on the short term.

“We need to strengthen global governance. We need to focus on the future. We need to renew the social contract. We need to ensure a United Nations fit for a new era,” he said. 

People march during a climate change protest in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 27, 2021. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

Published : September 22, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006475

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday elaborated on the guiding principles for international relations.

“We must strengthen solidarity and promote mutual respect and win-win cooperation in conducting international relations,” Xi said in his statement delivered via video at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

A world of peace and development should embrace civilizations of various forms, and must accommodate diverse paths to modernization, Xi said. “Democracy is not a special right reserved to an individual country, but a right for the people of all countries to enjoy.”

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Referring to recent developments in the global situation, he said they showed once again that military intervention from the outside and so-called democratic transformation entail nothing but harm.

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“We need to advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, and reject the practice of forming small circles or zero-sum games,” Xi said.

Xi added that one country’s success does not have to mean another country’s failure, and that the world is big enough to accommodate common development and progress of all countries.

Stressing that China has never and will never invade or bully others, or seek hegemony, Xi said that China is always a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order and provider of public goods.

China will continue to bring the world new opportunities through its new development, Xi noted.

“We must improve global governance and practice true multilateralism,” Xi said. “In the world, there is only one international system, i.e. the international system with the United Nations at its core. There is only one international order, i.e. the international order underpinned by international law. There is only one set of rules, i.e. the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.”

The UN should hold high the banner of true multilateralism and serve as the central platform for countries to jointly safeguard universal security, share development achievements and chart the course for the future of the world, Xi said.

Published : September 22, 2021

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U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will “compete vigorously” with other major powers while emphasizing it is not “seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday that the United States is opening a new chapter of diplomacy after ending the two-decade Afghan war.

“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this era of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” Biden said in his first address to the UN General Assembly.

The U.S. military completed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in late August under Biden’s order, ending the longest war in American history.

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The president pointed out the U.S. military power “must be our tool of last resort, not our first,” and should not be used as an answer for every global problem.

“Many of our greatest concerns cannot be solved or even addressed through the force of arms. Bombs and bullets cannot defend against COVID-19 or its future variants,” he added. “To fight this pandemic, we need a collective act of science and political will.”

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Biden said the United States will “compete vigorously” with other major powers while emphasizing it is not “seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.”

“The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to shared challenges, even if we have intense disagreements in other areas,” he continued. “Because we’ll all suffer the consequences of our failure if we do not come together to address the urgent threats like COVID-19 and climate change or enduring threats like nuclear proliferation.”

Biden said that Washington will remain to engage with Tehran diplomatically and seek a mutual return to the Iran nuclear deal. The United States seeks “serious and sustained diplomacy” to pursue the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

He also reaffirmed both U.S. security commitment to Israel and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Biden’s debut at the UN General Assembly came after controversial foreign policy decisions without sufficient consultations with allies, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and a diplomatic rift with France over a submarine deal with Australia.

Under a new security partnership unveiled last Wednesday between Australia, Britain and the United States, known as AUKUS, Australia will build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology. Australia then announced it would scrap the deal with France signed in 2016 to purchase 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.

Outraged by the abrupt move without notice, France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia for consultations on Friday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday in New York that the trilateral move between the United States, Britain and Australia represents a “crisis of trust” between allies that requires explanations.
 

U.S. President Joe Biden (at the podium and on the screens) speaks during the General Debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Published : September 22, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006471

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won a third term in Canadas snap election though fell short of regaining the majority he was seeking, forcing him to rely on smaller parties in another fragmented parliament.

Trudeau’s Liberal Party was elected or leading in 158 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons, with 99% of the polls reporting. That’s one more seat than he won in the last vote in 2019. The main opposition Conservatives, under Erin O’Toole, won 119 seats, two fewer than last time.

For a second straight election, though, the Liberals lost the popular vote to the Conservatives and won only because of a strong showing in Toronto, Montreal and other cities.

Overall, the result leaves parliament little changed from what it was before Trudeau called the vote — a stable minority that gives the prime minister license to continue pursuing a pre-election big-spending agenda that had already received parliamentary backing earlier this year. In addition, Trudeau should easily find support in the legislature to press ahead with new campaign pledges such as raising taxes on financial institutions and imposing stricter emission rules for the oil and gas sector.

“This points to ongoing heavy fiscal support and some upside bias towards wider deficits in the medium term,” Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said by email. “Of course, since it seems we will be dealing with a minority government, the specifics will remain fluid.”

Other initiatives expected to be brought forward quickly include new regulations that will compel media stream services and social platforms like Netflix and TikTok to finance and promote Canadian content. Trudeau had introduced a bill to regulate the sector in the previous parliament that never won passage through the Senate before the election was called.

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In his victory speech early Tuesday morning in Montreal, Trudeau likened the election result to voters sending parliamentarians “back to work.”

“I hear you when you say you just want to get back to the things you love, and not worry about this pandemic or about an election,” he said.

The Liberal victory is a historic milestone for Trudeau, marking only the eighth time a Canadian leader has won three successive elections. Trudeau’s father, Pierre, also did it. It also represents a comeback of sorts for Trudeau, whose party was trailing in the polls midway through the five-week campaign.

But the outcome is also a rebuke of Trudeau’s decision to call a snap election that many Canadians saw as a power grab while the Covid-19 pandemic still rages. With more than 90% of polls reporting, the Liberals had just 32.2% of the national vote. That would be the lowest share for any governing party in the nation’s history. The Conservatives stood at 34%.

It’s the second time voters have denied this prime minister full control of the legislature, limiting his freedom to take big risks or govern unilaterally.

The results reflect a nation that’s unsure about its immediate future amid a fourth wave of the pandemic. Canadians are dealing with growing debt levels and concerned about a future transition from an oil-producing nation to a low-carbon economy. Party leaders struggled to find a coherent message with which to unite the electorate, pollsters said.

“That’s a damning assessment of the front-runners from Canadians, reflecting for them, a lack of inspiring choices,” said Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, a Vancouver-based polling firm.

Like in 2019, when Trudeau lost his majority, the outcome also underscores the regional divisions facing the nation. Resource-rich western Canadians again voted heavily for Conservatives, a party more supportive of the energy sector. Quebeckers chose to send nationalists to the legislature in large numbers, instead of siding with Trudeau’s federalist party.

To be sure, Trudeau will have a stable minority. He has multiple potential partners to pass legislation, giving the prime minister maximum leverage. The New Democratic Party won 25 seats, while the Bloc Quebecois had 34. Each has enough to push the Liberals beyond the 170 votes in parliament needed to pass legislation.

Minority governments have become familiar to Canadians. The past seven elections have now produced five minority governments. They’re popular because they require the participation of several parties to make laws.

But there’s a downside. Minority parliaments keep parties on constant campaign footing and give them less scope to consider long-term issues. In practice, that means politicians are wary of tackling big problems like Canada’s sagging competitiveness or slow transition toward a low-carbon economy.

“The economic challenges ahead of us are significant,” Robert Asselin, senior vice president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, said by email. “We are going to need a longer-term approach to growth.”

Since the 2019 election, the country’s benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index has climbed 23%, barely half the gain of the S&P 500. The Canadian currency has been the second-worst performer among G-10 currencies against the U.S. dollar.

Trudeau largely had control over the economic agenda last month before he called the election, with all three opposition parties at one point backing his emergency borrowing to pay for the Covid-19 response.

The Liberals passed a budget in April with $110 billion (CA$140 billion) in new spending measures, with support from the NDP. Even the Conservatives largely supported the Liberal government’s pandemic support measures through much of last year.

But the prospect of the Liberals linking up with the New Democrats on policy could prompt an even more leftward shift. The NDP wants to raise tax rates on corporate income and capital gains, as well as on wealthy individuals.

The election outcome also amounted to a rejection of O’Toole, the Conservative leader whose gamble to move his party closer to the political center with a moderate platform failed to win enough voters to offset losses to his right. In particular, the Conservatives struggled to make any breakthroughs in the big urban centers.

“There are no winners here,” Darrell Bricker, global chief executive of Ipsos Public Affairs, said by email.

Published : September 22, 2021

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40006470

An estimated 5,000 residents fled their homes as a volcano on La Palma, one of Spains Canary Islands, erupted Sunday and sent streams of red molten lava downhill toward villages and a column of thick, dark smoke into the sky.

Videos and photos on social media showed streams of bright orange lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano flowing through streets, engulfing houses and roads, while fountains of lava and ash exploded overhead.

The volcano, which last erupted in 1971, had shown signs of activity in the days leading up to the eruption, placing locals on high alert.

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, known as Involcan, said that early measurements recorded temperatures of 1,967 degrees Fahrenheit (1,075 Celsius).

“Follow the advice of the authorities and DO NOT GO near the site of the eruption,” the institute tweeted Sunday.

According to authorities, more than 22,000 tremors were detected in one week around the active volcanic region.

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“According to experts there are about 17 to 20 million cubic meters of lava,” Canary Islands President Ángel Victor Torres told a news conference Sunday night.

People with disabilities were evacuated ahead of the eruption, which took place around 3 p.m. local time Sunday. Hiking trails had also been cordoned off to the public as a precaution, CNN reported.

Torres added that the lava was slowly flowing “towards the coast” and that nobody else would need to be evacuated.

Locals were advised to stay away from the area and to exercise “extreme caution,” Reuters reported, as soldiers were deployed to help.

On Sunday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez tweeted that he had canceled his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly and confirmed he would be arriving in the area to help in the aftermath of the eruption.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto caused a backlash after she suggested that the volcano eruption could be used to attract tourists. “We can also make the most of this as an attraction, so that a lot of tourists who want to enjoy what nature has brought to La Palma can do so in the coming weeks and months,” she said, according to The Guardian.

Published : September 22, 2021

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President Joe Biden plans to announce an order of 500 million doses of the Pfizer -BioNTech vaccine Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the president looks to increase donations of shots abroad and ward off criticism about U.S. plans for boosters.

Negotiations between the administration and manufacturers are continuing but a deal is poised to be unveiled at a virtual vaccine summit, said the people, who asked not to be named ahead of the announcement.

The order would double the amount of the Pfizer-BioNTech shots that the U.S. has bought for export. An initial pledge of 500 million doses was made in June and deliveries began in August. About 200 million of those will ship by Dec. 31. Another 300 million are due by the end of June. It’s not clear when the new order of 500 million shots would ship or how much they would cost.

The White House declined to comment.

Biden has planned the summit to coincide with United Nations General Assembly meetings this week and has promoted his coming announcement.

“I’ll be announcing additional commitments as we seek to advance the fight against Covid-19 and hold ourselves accountable around specific targets on three key challenges: saving lives now, vaccinating the world and building back better,” Biden said in a speech on Tuesday.

He said that the U.S. has shipped more than 160 million doses of vaccine abroad. The U.S. is the top donor of vaccines, according to Unicef data, although other countries have high export totals based on vaccine sales. U.S. donations have landed in 100 countries, Biden said.

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On top of the one billion doses ordered specifically for donation, the U.S. has donated another 130 million. The U.S. has administered 386 million doses domestically so far, a figure that is poised to jump in the coming months as booster shot campaigns expand and with potential authorization of shots for children age 5 to 11.

Published : September 22, 2021