Joe Biden announced Monday that he wants the U.S. to beat Russia and China in donating COVID-19 vaccines to other nations as he promised 80 million doses will be shipped abroad by the end of June.
'Today we're taking an additional step to help the world,' the president said during remarks at the White House Monday afternoon. 'We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic that's raging globally is under control.'
'No ocean is big enough, no wall's high enough to keep us safe,' Biden said.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrived for indoor remarks without wearing masks for the first time since taking office in January.
The event comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance last week that fully vaccinated individuals – meaning those who received their last dose at least 14 days prior – no longer have to wear masks indoors or out.
President Joe Biden announced Monday that the U.S. will send 80 million coroanvirus vaccine doses around the world by the end of June
'Today we're taking an additional step to help the world,' the president said. 'We know America will never be fully safe until the pandemic that's raging globally is under control. No ocean is big enough, no wall's high enough to keep us safe'
The majority of Americans have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine
For the first time, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (left) did not wear masks at all during the indoor event after the CDC released guidance last week claiming fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to mask up indoors or out
Biden set a goal to get 70 per cent of American adults with at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4 – and claimed new numbers show 60 per cent have already done so.
He claimed Monday that it's Americans' 'patriotic duty' to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The White House announced Monday it will send 20 million more doses on top of the 80 million it already planned to send as part of the first shipment of U.S.-authorized vaccines going overseas.
The U.S. already shared 4 million doses of AstraZeneca with Canada and Mexico.
AstraZeneca has not yet been authorized for use against COVID-19 in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration, but the vaccine doses are still being produced in America.
Therefore all 60 million doses produced in the U.S. will be sent overseas to countries where it can be used.
The additional 20 millions doses of coronavirus shots announced Monday are coming from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson while the initial 60 million are doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The 80 million shots will be sent to other countries from the U.S. in the next six weeks.
'The United States will send 20 million doses authorized for use in the United States to help countries battling the pandemic by the end of June,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during her daily briefing on Monday.
The boost in shipments follows pressure on the Biden administration to use its large vaccine surplus to help other countries now that significant progress has been made in rolling out vaccinations at home.
Psaki would not say which countries would be prioritized for the shipments, but Biden has signaled that Washington will be doing what it can to help India push back against a surge in the pandemic.
The initial 60 million doses will all be of AstraZeneca, once the vaccine gets US regulatory approval. The British-developed shots have yet to be used in the United States and look increasingly unlikely ever to be needed.
Psaki did not specify what brand the extra 20 million doses would be, saying only they would be 'other doses of approved vaccines.'
Apparently responding to claims that the United States has been hoarding medicines, Psaki said that the 80 million figure represents 'the most doses donated by any country in the world by five times.'
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic last year, cases dropped over the weekend in every state.
Texas on Sunday recorded zero new COVID deaths for the first time since it began tracking data in March 2020. Cases in the Lone Star State hit a 13-month low.
It comes just two months after the state reopened, drawing sharp criticism from public health officials and President Biden, who called Republican Governor Greg Abbott's executive order lifting all restrictions 'Neanderthal thinking.'
Despite those concerns, new infections and deaths have fallen steadily in Texas since the state reopened on March 2.
Abbott tweeted Sunday's good news, adding, 'Thanks Texans!'
Public health experts have been left scratching their heads as largely conservative states like Texas and Florida reopened early against their advice, with little consequence, while liberal states like California and New York maintained mask mandates but saw persistently high COVID case rates.
But as vaccinations ramp up, the playing field is leveling out and coronavirus cases and fatalities are ebbing nationwide.
The U.S. recorded fewer than 17,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday for the first time since the pandemic took hold in America in March 2020.
'Every day the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter,' Biden said during his remarks from the White House Monday.
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