U.S. will 'surge' vaccine support to 11 African countries
Source: Washington Post
U.S. will ‘surge’ vaccine support to 11 African countries
Ramped-up initiative is aimed at protecting Americans, as well as the world, from new coronavirus variants
By Dan Diamond and Emily Rauhala
Today at 10:57 a.m. EST|Updated today at 1:32 p.m. EST
The Biden administration will “surge” more than $250 million in coronavirus vaccine assistance to 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including several where the omicron variant was first identified, as it ramps up efforts to help vaccinate the world, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post and confirmed by global health officials.
The Global VAX initiative, which the administration first outlined in December, represents the latest effort to carry out President Biden’s vows to help end the pandemic and restore U.S. global health leadership. Those goals are driven by national security as well as humanitarian concerns; officials worry that a new variant could emerge in a largely unvaccinated country and quickly circle the globe. The fast-spreading omicron variant, which drove record levels of covid cases and hospitalizations in January, was first detected in southern Africa in November.
According to the “COVID-19 Global VAX Field Guide,” which was shared with diplomatic contacts, the United States will prioritize countries in sub-Saharan Africa — beginning with Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia — to “receive intensive support” for their vaccination campaigns through in-person staffing, technical assistance and more diplomatic engagement. Those countries have generally vaccinated fewer than 40 percent of their populations against coronavirus, according to the University of Oxford’s Our World in Data tracking project, but have reported upticks in recent weeks that U.S. officials say show the potential of global aid.
Under the Global VAX initiative, the U.S. plans to spend more than half of the $510 million staked for the program to boost vaccination efforts in the 11 countries, which could include investments in mobile centers to administer shots, freezers for safe vaccine storage and other supplies, U.S. Agency for International Development officials told The Post. The initiative is focused on ensuring “shots in arms,” amid concern that many low-income countries lack the infrastructure to safely store and administer vaccine doses that have been donated by wealthier nations and global aid groups.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/17/us-global-vaccinations-surge-subsaharan-africa/
Non-paywalled link: https://wapo.st/3Bv0iGy
