Joe Biden To Donate $4billion To Poor Countries For COVID-19 Vaccines

President Joe Biden of the United States of America is expected to announce his contribution towards the fight against COVID-19 pandemic on Friday.

A report monitored by Naija News on ABC News revealed that the president will today dole out $2 billion to a United Nation’s programme to support the distribution of Coronavirus vaccine doses to the less privileged nations.

The development revealed by an official of Biden’s administration noted that Congress had already allocated the money in December for the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide to Gavi, an international vaccine distribution alliance. The congress provided a total of $4 billion and officials said that the U.S. would give the rest to Gavi over the course of this year and 2022.

Naija News understands that President Biden will make the announcement today during a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. According to records, 10 countries have already been administered 75% of all COVID-19 vaccines, while more than 130 countries have not yet received a single dose, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The US alone has purchased over 600 million vaccine doses, but it does not intend to give any of them to other countries until “there is sufficient supply in the United States.”

Meanwhile, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use in Nigeria.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Abuja, Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency gave the approval after subjecting the vaccine to various tests.