It will send 2 billion doses this year – El Financiero
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to significantly expand exports of COVID vaccines 2 billion doses this yearIn line with the commitments of the Group of Seven countries, amid warnings of a lack of vaccinations in developing countries.
State media said Xi announced the goal in a speech he wrote at a forum on international cooperation in the field of vaccines organized by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.
The president said the country also plans to donate $100 million to the Covax Initiative, the WHO-backed international program that provides vaccines to developing countries.
The developing world has an injection of Chinese developers, such as Sinovac e SinopharmaTo slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, although it appears to be less effective than vaccines developed in the West.
Earlier this week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged developed countries to share their supplies rather than use them for booster injections.
The promise made by Xi would mark a significant increase in the pace of Chinese exports, and the Foreign Ministry told reporters on Friday that the country has shipped so far. The equivalent of 770 million doses abroad. Two billion doses will equal the total commitments made by the G7 nations at their meeting in the United Kingdom.
Asian countries not including the Middle East have so far received about 39 percent of Chinese vaccines shipped abroad, or more than 300 million doses, according to a rough breakdown provided by the Foreign Ministry. Another 30 percent went to Latin AmericaWhile 21 percent went to the Middle East and about 2.3 percent were sent to Africa.
President Joe Biden increased US vaccine shipments after his country Accused of hoarding supplies to focus on its inhabitants. This effort has been fueled by increased demand for mRNA injections from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, whose studies have shown it to be more effective against harmful variants such as delta.
Both the United States and China want to rely on them “vaccine diplomacy” To rebuild its international prestige after the first slips of the epidemic. Criticisms of China’s handling of the first outbreak in Wuhan fueled a sharp rise in the country’s negative views of the world, while confidence in the American experience was shaken by the out-of-control outbreak that has infected more than 35 million Americans.
Chinese exports are likely to be key to meeting demand from the developing world, as health experts warn that the uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2 could lead to more dangerous and vaccine-resistant variants. Xi pledged last year to make the country’s vaccines a “global public good.”
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