UPDATE 1-U.S. to donate an additional 500 mln COVID-19 vaccines

The United States plans to donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE to nations around the world, lifting the total the country is sharing to more than 1 billion doses, according to a source familiar with the plans.

The United States plans to donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE to nations around the world, lifting the total the country is sharing to more than 1 billion doses, according to a source familiar with the plans. President Joe Biden is hosting a virtual summit on COVID-19 on Wednesday and is likely to announce the new pledge then.

Earlier on Tuesday, Biden told United Nations General Assembly that the United States had put more than $15 billion toward the global response to COVID-19 in order to fund more than 160 million COVID-19 vaccines in other countries. The United States had already purchased 500 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and donated them through the global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX.

Vaccines had already landed in 100 countries, Biden said, adding he would announce additional commitments on Wednesday at a U.S.-hosted global COVID-19 summit. The United States is pushing global leaders to endorse its targets for ending the COVID-19 pandemic, including ensuring 70% of the world's population is vaccinated by the 2022, according to a draft U.S. document viewed by Reuters.

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