US to start giving AstraZeneca vaccines to the rest of the world once the formula is approved in the country

The United States government will start giving doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine once it has been approved by the relevant health agencies in the country, reported this Monday The Associated Press.

It’s expected that deliver up to 60 million doses, which are not being used there, “over the next few months”. The Joe Biden administration secured the supply of hundreds of millions of doses of the inoculants of Pfizer / BioNtech, Moderna y Johnson & Johnson. And unlike the one developed by the Anglo-Swedish laboratory, they have already been authorized and are being administered in the territory.

“Given the strong portfolio of vaccines available to the United States and which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Since the AstraZeneca vaccine has not been licensed for use in the United States, we do not need to use the AtraZeneca vaccines here for the next few months.“Said Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Pandemic Coordinator.” As a result, the United States is exploring options to share AstraZeneca doses with other countries as they arise. become available, ”he added.

The official explained that around 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca inoculant have been produced in the country, but its “quality” has yet to be assessed by the FDA, which could happen in the coming weeks. 50 million more doses are in different production processes and, if they also receive the authorization of the health entity, they could be distributed in May and June.

The announcement comes a day after the Democratic MP Raja Krishnamoorthi asked Biden that these surplus vaccines be distributed to countries where the coronavirus strikes the hardest,including India, Argentina and others“.

Krishnamoorthi, who was born in New Delhi and moved to the United States with his parents when he was three months old, is playing a leading role in the fight against the coronavirus in Congress.

Since January, He is one of 12 members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in Congress, along with six other Democratic representatives and five Republicans.. Specifically, throughout the nearly a year and a half of the covid-19 pandemic around the world, the Illinois representative has played a leading role in sponsoring and developing key policies to address the pandemic.

“To slow the spread of this virus internationally and protect public health and our international economy, we need to distribute these vaccines now“Says the statement of the American legislator, who in support of his request referred to the fact that in March the country has already donated approximately 4 million doses in Mexico and Canada.

Both of these countries have asked the Biden government to send in further doses, while many others have made similar requests. United States has a contract for the supply of 300 million doses of the vaccine developed by the Anglo-Swedish laboratory.

Unlike the abundance of vaccines that takes place in the United States, on Monday the European Commission lodged a complaint specifically with AstraZeneca, understanding that he did not respect the terms of the vaccine contract signed with the community executive for the whole of the European Union (EU).

“Our priority is to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine deliveries take place to protect the health of the EU. This is why the Commission has decided, together with the Member States, to initiate legal proceedings against Astrazeneca. Every dose of vaccine counts. Every dose saves livesHealth Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Twitter.

The EU executive had made it known that it was consulting member states about its intention to pursue the dispute with AstraZeneca, which It delivered just 29.8 million vaccines in the first quarter and plans to deliver 70 million more in the second, against 300 million doses promised. “Last Friday, the Commission launched legal proceedings against the company AstraZeneca, on the basis of the breach of the advance purchase agreement,” EC health spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker said during of a press conference.

For its part, the laboratory replied that “it has fully respected” the agreement for the sale of vaccines against COVID-19 with the European Commission and that therefore Go “firmly defend” in court.

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