Half of surplus jabs to developing world

BRITAIN will give more than half its surplus vaccines to needy countries, Boris Johnson will vow today.

Mr Johnson will use his first G7 meeting with US President Joe Biden to pledge the “majority” of spare doses to the international COVAX scheme. It comes after the UK ordered 407million doses of potential vaccines – enough for every

UK adult almost four times over.

The first of any surplus doses, which

No10 said would go to COVAX’s procurement pool to support developing countries, are set to be identified later this year.

COVAX - led by international bodies including the World Health Organization - is promising “fair and equitable access” to a jab “for every country in the world”, including doses for at least 20% of each nation’s population. The UK has already paid £548million into the scheme and will encourage other nations to do the same at today’s G7 mini-summit.

The Prime Minister will say: “By harnessing our collective ingenuity, we can ensure we have the vaccines, treatments and tests to be battle-ready for future health threats, as we beat Covid-19 and build back better together.” Today’s meeting Joe Biden’s first get-together of multiple world leaders as President – is the warm-up act for June’s in-person G7 summit to be held in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Romilly Greenhill, UK Director of The ONE Campaign, warned: “Sharing surplus doses through COVAX is the right thing to do.

“But, if we want to beat this virus and protect people at home and abroad, we cannot rely on a trickle down approach to vaccine access.”

MEETING US President Biden