US to buy 500M Pfizer vaccines to share globally

Washington, June 09: The US will buy 500 million more doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to share through the global COVAX alliance for donation to 92 lower income countries and the African Union over the next year, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

President Joe Biden was set to make the announcement Thursday in a speech before the start of Group of Seven summit. According to the source, 200 million doses - enough to fully protect 100 million people - would be shared this year, with the balance to be donated in the first half of 2022.

The person confirmed the announcement on the condition of anonymity. The news was first reported by the Washington Post.

The announcement comes days after the White House unveiled its plans to begin sharing the existing U.S. vaccine surplus with the world.