“It’s about saving lives,” Blinken said during remarks to the State Department. “We will treat our partner countries with respect.”
Blinken made the announcement and revealed a new Covid coordinator, Gayle Smith, as the US has been increasingly criticized for not sharing unused vaccines with other countries, even though Russia and China have aggressively pursued vaccine diplomacy with nations around the world.
“As we become more confident in the supply of vaccines here at home, we are exploring options to share more with other countries in the future,” Blinken said. “We believe that we will be able to do much more on this front. I know that many countries are asking the US to do more, some desperately growing, because of the scope and scale of the Covid emergencies. I hear you and I promise we’ll move as soon as possible. “
Blinken did not describe the levels of vaccination in the US that the Biden administration hopes to achieve before distributing more vaccines globally.
He stressed the need for global cooperation and the US to help other countries.
“Even if tomorrow we vaccinated all 332 million people in the United States, we would still not be fully protected from the virus,” the top US diplomat told the State Department. “Not while replicating around the world and turning into new variants that could easily come here and spread to our communities again, and not if we want to completely reopen our economy or start traveling again. ”.
“This pandemic will not end at home until it ends worldwide,” Blinken said.
‘Core values’
He also highlighted other “core values” that he said would guide the State Department’s plans, making what appeared to be a blow to Russia and China.
“We will not overpromise or deliver too little. We will maintain high standards for the vaccines we help bring to others by distributing only those that have been shown to be safe and effective. We will insist on an equity-based approach,” Blinken said.
China has taken a different approach to the US and is widely exporting vaccines before making them widely available at home. Russia and India also share vaccines, but not on the same scale as Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced last month that it provides free vaccines in 69 countries and exports them commercially to 28 other countries.
Blinken also introduced Smith, head of the ONE Campaign and former head of the US Agency for International Development, who will become the coordinator of the State Department for international efforts to combat the Covid pandemic.
Noting her experience leading the US response to the 2014 Ebola crisis and working on the global fight against malaria, tuberculosis and HIV AIDS, Blinken said Smith is “being tested. She is very respected. It will hit the ground. And I can say that after working with Gail and admiring her for years, no one will work harder, faster or more efficiently to get us to the finish line. “
Smith, an Africa specialist and aid and development veteran, served at USAID under former President Barack Obama before joining the ONE campaign, a non-partisan advocacy group fighting global poverty.
Smith said he “fought viruses in the past” and learned two lessons.
“The first is that if the virus moves faster than us, it wins,” she said. “The second is that with unity of purpose, science, vigilance and leadership, we can overcome any virus. America has done it before.” Smith then invoked the history of US bipartisan efforts to meet health challenges.
Referring to the President’s well-known AIDS Emergency Plan or the PEPFAR program, she said that “18 years ago, a Republican president launched a bold initiative to take over the HIV / AIDS epidemic. A Democratic president has continued to expand this mission In 2014, the Obama-Biden administration, with the strong and generous support of Congress, defeated the world’s first Ebola epidemic. “
Noting that “American leadership is desperately needed,” Smith said the United States and the global community face two challenges. “First, to shorten the lifespan of a borderless pandemic that is destroying lives and livelihoods around the world. And second, to make sure we can prevent, detect and respond to those future global health threats about which we know are coming. ”
Prior to leading USAID, Smith served as Obama’s special assistant and senior director for development and democracy on the National Security Council. While working for Obama, Smith helped coordinate his administration’s response to the Ebola epidemic.
Smith worked as a journalist throughout Africa, reporting for a variety of international media in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya, among other countries, before continuing to co-found the Sufficient Genocide Project.
The ONE campaign said it would be on temporary leave.
Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Sydney Walton of CNN contributed to this report.