Biden urges global vaccination push
President asks rich nations to join US in sharing doses
ST. IVES, England — President Joe Biden urged global leaders Thursday to join him in sharing coronavirus vaccines with struggling nations around the world after he promised the U.S. would donate 500 million doses to help speed the pandemic’s end and bolster the strategic position of the world’s wealthiest democracies.
Speaking in England before a summit of the Group of Seven world leaders, Biden announced the U.S. commitment to vaccine sharing, which comes on top of 80 million doses he has already pledged by the end of the month. He argued it was in both America’s interests and the world’s to make vaccinations widely and speedily available everywhere.
“We’re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic working alongside our global partners,” Biden said. He added that on Friday the G-7 nations would join the U.S. in outlining their vaccine donation commitments.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in The Times of London newspaper that it was now time for wealthy countries to “shoulder their responsibilities” and “vaccinate the world.” His country has yet to send any doses abroad or announce a solid plan to share vaccines. Johnson indicated Britain had millions of doses in surplus stocks.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the U.S. commitment and said Europe
should do the same.
“I think the European Union needs to have at least the same level of ambition as the United States” and be able to make a similar announcement, he said at a news conference.
Biden said the U.S. was sharing its doses “with no strings attached” or “pressure for favors.”
“We’re doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic, and that’s it,” he said.
Biden had faced mounting pressure to outline his global vaccine sharing plan, especially as inequities in supply around the world have become more pronounced and the demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped precipitously in recent weeks.
“In times of trouble, Americans reach out to offer help,” Biden said.
The U.S. commitment is to
buy and donate 500 million Pfizer doses fr distribution through the global COVAX alliance to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, bringing the first steady supply of mRNA vaccine to the countries that need it most. A price tag for the 500 million doses was not released, but the U.S. is set to be COVAX’s largest vaccine donor in addition to its single largest funder with a $4 billion commitment.
Securing public pledges for a global vaccine campaign appeared in line with Biden’s hopes to use his first overseas trip as president to reassure European allies that the United States had shed the transactional tendencies of Donald Trump’s term and is a reliable partner again.
Long a believer in alliances, Biden stressed the
deep bonds with the United Kingdom as a linchpin of his call for Western democracies to compete against rising authoritarian states.
Striking a tone of conviviality as the news media watched, Biden and Johnson, the British prime minister used their first meeting Thursday to highlight a commitment to strengthening their nations’ historic ties while setting aside, at least publicly, their political and personal differences.
“We affirmed the special relationship — it’s not said lightly — the special relationship between our people,” Biden said after the meeting. “We renewed our pledge to defend the enduring democratic values that both of our nations share that are the strong foundation of our partnership.”
But there are areas of friction.
Biden staunchly opposed Brexit, Britain’s exit from the European Union that Johnson championed, and has expressed great concern over the future of Northern Ireland. Biden once called Johnson a “physical and emotional clone” of Trump.
The British government has worked hard to overcome that impression, stressing Johnson’s common ground with Biden on climate change, support for international institutions and other issues. But Johnson, host for the Group of Seven summit opening Friday, has been frustrated by the lack of a new trade deal with the United States.
Johnson on Thursday, however, described the new U.S. administration as “a breath of fresh air.”
Before their formal
discussions, the two men looked back on illustrious wartime predecessors, inspecting documents related to the Atlantic Charter. The declaration signed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941 set out common goals for the postWorld War II world, including freer trade, disarmament and the right to self-determination of all people.
Reaffirming their nations’ long-standing ties, the two men authorized an updated version of the charter, one that looks to the challenge posed by countries like China and Russia with its promises to promote free trade, human rights and a rules-based international order, and to counter “those who seek to undermine our alliances and institutions.”