US to share AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries

Faced with intense pressure to help India and other countries as they struggle to vaccinate their populations against mounting COVID-19 cases, the Biden administration said Monday it intends to share its entire stock of the AstraZeneca vaccine — up to 60 million doses — with other nations when the vaccine receives federal approval.

The Associated Press reported that the US announcement came after President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, which reported nearly 353,000 new coronavirus infections on Monday, setting a new world record for the fifth straight day, as overwhelmed hospitals face a critical shortage of oxygen.

Meanwhile, there has been a major coronavirus outbreak among US diplomatic staff in India, with two staff members who were locally employed dying and more than 100 people testing positive in recent weeks, according to a CNN report that cited two sources.

White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the Biden administration’s confidence in its supply of three federally approved vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — was behind the decision to share more vaccines.

The US restarted its use of the single-dose J&J vaccine on Friday after it was briefly paused to review a rare blood clot disorder linked to the shot. More than 40 percent of Americans are at least partially vaccinated.

“Given AstraZeneca is not authorized for use in the United States, we do not need to use AstraZeneca in our fight against COVID over the next few months,” she said.

Psaki said at a news conference that about 10 million doses could be released “in the coming weeks” if the FDA determines that the vaccine meets “our own bar and our own guidelines” and that another 50 million doses are in various stages of production. “Right now, we have zero doses available of AstraZeneca,” she said.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, unlike those of Pfizer, Moderna and J&J, hasn’t been granted emergency use authorization by the FDA. The administration wouldn’t specify which countries will receive the vaccine when cleared by the agency.

Reported cases of rare blood clotting in Europe raised concerns recently about the AstraZeneca vaccine’s safety. European regulators have said the benefits of using the vaccine outweigh its potential risks, but they recommended that EU governments add a warning to the vaccine’s product information.

The US announced Sunday that it would send raw materials to make vaccines, along with rapid diagnostic testing kits and other medical equipment to India that was previously subject to an export ban. The administration is also looking at options to provide oxygen generation “on an urgent basis” and funding to boost India’s domestic production of vaccines.

Biden, who has released a total of 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico, said last week that he was considering sending more overseas. “We’re looking at what is going to be done with some of the vaccines that we are not using,” he said.

The White House said at the time that doses sent to Canada and Mexico would be seen as a loan, with the expectation that the nations would send doses to the US later.

More than 3 million people worldwide have died of COVID-19, including more than 572,000 in the US. The US has vaccinated more than 53 percent of its adult population with at least one dose, and it expects to have enough supply for its entire population by early summer.

But the Biden administration has said the US needs to hold on to additional doses for possible booster shots and for when the vaccine is authorized for children.

The AstraZeneca doses will be donated by the US government, which has contracted with the company for 300 million doses — though the company has faced production issues.