US President Joe Biden estimated Thursday that the donation by the United States of 500 million anti-Covid vaccines to poor countries was a
"historic step"
in the fight against the pandemic.
"Our humanitarian duty is to save as many lives as possible", he insisted on the eve of the opening of the G7 summit in Cornwall (United Kingdom).
"It is also in the interests of the Americans,"
he added.
Read also: Covid: Washington to buy 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccines to give to other countries
The White House has announced the purchase of 500 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech which will be distributed to nearly 100 countries through the Covax device, set up to ensure equitable distribution.
"Monumental commitment"
"The United States will provide this half a billion doses without conditions"
, hammered Joe Biden, in a thinly veiled allusion to Russia and China, which Washington accuses of using the vaccine as a means of diplomatic pressure.
"200 million of these doses will be distributed this year (...) It is a monumental commitment on the part of the Americans,"
he said.
Strongly criticized for having delayed in sharing its vaccines against Covid-19 with the rest of the world, the White House is today trying to pose as a leader in the planetary fight against the pandemic, which has made more than 3.76 million people. dead.