US Purchases Hundreds of Millions More Pfizer Vaccine Doses for Donation to Other Countries

"Scheduled for Announcement Early Next Week in Line with the UN General Assembly"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Reports have emerged that the U.S. government will purchase hundreds of millions of additional doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to donate to other countries.

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 17th (local time), citing multiple sources, that this vaccine purchase announcement is expected to be made early next week in line with the United Nations General Assembly. The White House declined to comment on this matter.

However, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit on the 22nd, coinciding with the UN General Assembly period.

The Biden administration had previously purchased 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in June to donate to the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine-sharing initiative, COVAX.

Meanwhile, this additional purchase appears to be linked to the U.S.'s booster shot rollout plan. The U.S. had earlier announced plans to promote booster shots, which drew criticism from the international community. However, the U.S. maintains that it can simultaneously expand global vaccinations and proceed with domestic booster shots.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.