'Over-supplied' US faces pressure to send Covid vaccine doses to less wealthy countries

US bought enough doses to vaccinate whole eligible population twice, but continues to resist sharing in effort to over-prepare'

The US is under increasing pressure to share Covid-19 vaccine doses with less wealthy nations, as advocates call for prevention of an emerging vaccine apartheid" and point to the strategic and diplomatic importance of sharing essential medicines.

Calls to share vaccine doses grew louder this week after the Biden administration announced an additional purchase of 100 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson. The American government has now bought enough doses of vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to vaccinate 500 million people - nearly the entire eligible population twice over.