The US will purchase 500m Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer to donate to other countries, Joe Biden will announce on Thursday, a significant expansion of the country’s efforts to help increase inoculation rates around the world.
The Biden administration had agreed to buy 200m doses this year and 300m in the first half of next year to send to other countries, according to a person familiar with the deal, who confirmed an earlier report by The Washington Post.
The agreement is a big increase on the 80m vaccine doses already pledged by the Biden administration to other countries, following criticism that the US is hoarding doses instead of helping those in need.