JABS FOR ALL

Biden Is Sending 20 Million U.S.-Approved Vaccine Doses Abroad as Demand Slips

The U.S. will now share its doses of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

With domestic demand slipping for COVID-19 jabs, the Biden administration has announced that they will send an additional 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. overseas by the end of June. This marks a change in policy, as the 60 million doses that had already been designated for overseas shipment by the U.S. were drawn from the nation’s stockpile of AstraZeneca vaccines, which has not been authorized for domestic use. In contrast, the 20 million doses just added are drawn from the U.S.’s stores of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Biden had made prior comments that the U.S. would only start exporting vaccines once demand had been satisfied domestically, saying that he’d like the country to become an international “arsenal” for vaccines. This comes amid an easing of pandemic measures within the U.S., with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxing indoor mask guidance for vaccinated people last week.