TEGUCIGALPA — Honduras will receive 1.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States today as part of an initial delivery of doses through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program, White House officials told Reuters.
The shipment is part of 80 million U.S. doses that President Joe Biden has pledged to share with other countries around the world either directly or through the COVAX program.
“We are sharing vaccines with Honduras because it’s the right thing to do from a global public health perspective, and right for our collective security and well-being in the region,” said Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the Western Hemisphere on the White House National Security Council, in a statement shared with Reuters.
“Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccine lots to Honduras,” another White House official said.
On Monday the White House laid out its plan to share 55 million of the pledged 80 million U.S. COVID-19 vaccine doses globally, with roughly 75% of the doses allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa through the COVAX program.
Some 14 million doses were earmarked for Latin American and Caribbean countries including Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Costa Rica.
The plan fulfills President Joe Biden’s commitment to share 80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world. The president sketched out his priorities for the first 25 million doses from that pledge earlier this month.
The United States has come under pressure to share more of its vaccine supply with countries that are still struggling with the deadly virus and its variants. With more and more Americans getting the shots, the White House increasingly has turned its attention to getting vaccine out internationally.
Of the 55 million remaining doses, some 41 million will be shared through COVAX, the White House said, with approximately 14 million going to Latin America and the Caribbean, some 16 million to Asia, and roughly 10 million to Africa.
—REUTERS
Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Howard Goller
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