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US undecided on AstraZeneca, other vaccines for Sri Lanka
The United States has not yet decided if Sri Lanka will be among the beneficiaries of Covid vaccines it hopes to share with the world.
US Embassy spokesperson Nancy VanHorn told Daily Mirror, the US hopes to share about 13 percent of the vaccines produced for the United States by the end of June—the most of any nation.
“We will work with COVAX and other partners to ensure these vaccines are delivered in a way that is equitable and follows the science and public health data. We don’t yet know which countries will be receiving vaccines, but a decision will be made soon,” she said.
VanHorn said that on May 17, President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to leading an international and coordinated vaccination effort, announcing that the US will provide 80 million doses of vaccine to meet global needs.
This includes 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines previously announced by President Biden and at least an additional 20 million doses of U.S. authorized vaccines by the end of June.
The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the AstraZeneca doses for product quality before distribution.
The US Embassy spokesperson said the United States will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries.
“The vaccine doses the United States is providing to the world don’t come with strings attached. We’re leading the world in global vaccination efforts because it’s the right thing to do: the right thing morally, the right thing from a global public health perspective, and the right thing for our collective security and well-being,” she said.
The State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka (SPC) had said earlier that the US State Department is to give 2-5 million doses of AstraZeneca out of which 600,000 doses are expected to arrive by June. (Easwaran Rutnam)
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