WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden’s administration is storing tens of millions of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine whose US authorization remains uncertain, frustrating US allies who say these doses should now be used to save lives abroad.
The confrontation is part of a growing global debate over who should have access to the hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine that pharmaceutical companies produce in the US In addition to generating ill-will, Biden’s insistence on an excess Supply for America potentially creates new openings for geopolitical rivals Russia and China.
A two-dose vaccine from AstraZeneca received emergency authorization from the European Union and the World Health Organization, but not from the USA. U.S. partners urge Biden to release supplies, noting that the administration has lined up enough doses of three vaccines already authorized to cover every American adult by the end of May. and the entire American population by the end of July.
AstraZeneca says that vaccines produced in the US are “owned” by the US government and that sending them abroad would require White House approval.
“We understand that other governments could have contacted the US government regarding the donation of AstraZeneca doses and we have asked the US government to consider these requests,” AstraZeneca spokesman Gonzalo Viña said in a statement.
Even though the European Union of 27 nations is eager to relaunch a more fruitful transatlantic relationship after the defeat of the Trump presidency, the vaccine issue is proving to be a thorny issue, with some in Europe considering it a continuation of former President Donald Trump. Focus on “America First”.
EU Member State ambassadors discussed the challenge this week. The German government said on Friday that it had contacted US officials about the supply of vaccines, but stressed that the European Commission was the leader in procuring fire for member states.
Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen instructed representatives to discuss supply chains in vaccine production.
“We hope that we will be in a position on both sides of the Atlantic to ensure that sufficient doses of vaccine are distributed in accordance with the program so that we can complete vaccination campaigns,” said EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer. .
Over 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are stored in the US for use here.
“We want to be overworked and over-prepared,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday, so that Americans can still be vaccinated quickly in the event of unforeseen problems with the existing production schedule.
“We have not provided doses from the US government to anyone,” she said.
Asked about the stored vaccine, COVID-19 White House coordinator Jeff Zients said: “We have a small inventory of AstraZeneca, so if it is approved, we can provide it to the American people. as soon as possible. “He said the US is following the same procedure it used for vaccines already authorized.
Drug manufacturers who received federal assistance in developing or expanding vaccine manufacturing were forced to sell the first US doses. In the case of AstraZeneca, whose vaccine was initially expected to be the first to receive federal emergency authorization, the government ordered 300 million doses – enough for 150 million Americans – before problems with the vaccine’s clinical trial resolved. ..
The company said this month that it expects to have about 30 million doses available to the US government by the end of March and another 20 million by the end of April.
As foreign regulators advanced with the shot, the US did not waive its contractual claim on initial doses produced in America.
This policy has also been criticized by neighbors in the United States, Canada and Mexico, who have been forced to look for vaccines manufactured on another continent, rather than across the border. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has purchased enough doses of Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to inoculate 150 million more people than the US population by the end of the year.
The US has also ordered 110 million doses of vaccine from Novavax, which is expected to issue an emergency permit as soon as possible next month.
The 30,000-person AstraZeneca trial in the United States did not complete registration until January. The company gave no indication of when the initial results might be ready beyond an executive who told Congress last month it expected it to be “soon.”
The European Union, amid its own launch of prevented vaccines, seems increasingly resigned to the Biden administration, keeping control of doses in the US.
The EU is also at odds with AstraZeneca, as the company delivers far fewer doses to the block than promised. From the initial order for 80 million in the first quarter of this year, the company will struggle to deliver half.
Despite the shortage at home and often accused of vaccine protectionism itself, the bloc of 27 nations has exported more than 34 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in recent weeks, including 953,723 to the United States.
Meanwhile, Russia and China have used their domestically produced vaccines for strategic leverage.
China has promised about half a billion doses to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country assessment by The Associated Press. Four of China’s many vaccine manufacturers say they will be able to produce at least 2.6 billion doses this year.
Russia has sent millions of doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to countries around the world, even if they vaccinate their own population. Analysts say the goal of this vaccine diplomacy is to strengthen Russia’s image as a scientific, technological and benevolent power, especially as other countries face shortages of COVID-19 vaccines as richer nations collect Western-made versions.
Israel, which has vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer vaccines produced in Europe, has also tried to use vaccine diplomacy to reward allies.
Biden has called on the United States to make a financial contribution to the COVAX alliance backed by the National Health Organization and the World Health Organization, which will help share the vaccine with more than 90 low- and middle-income countries, but the United States has not yet committed to divide no dose.
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Casert and Petrequin reported from Brussels. Danika Kirka in London, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed.
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