By Prior Beharry
PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley was among a number of world leaders speaking with US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday about Covid-19 vaccines.
In a Facebook post, Dr Rowley said: “This is the very latest in a series of high-level contacts which the Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister Rowley has been having with high-level officials of the US Administration in recent weeks.”
Dr Rowley is the current chairman of CARICOM.
Deputy Press Secretary for the Vice President, Sabrina Singh confirmed on Twitter on Thursday that Harris held talks with several world leaders including Dr Rowley.
She said Harris informed the leaders that the US administration will be sharing 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to their countries.
Singh said: “@VP this morning, in separate calls, spoke to PM (of India) Narendra Modi, (President of Mexico) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President (of Guatemala) Alejandro Giammattei, and PM Keith Rowley, notifying each leader that the admin will begin sharing the first 25M doses of vaccines to their countries.”
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced that it is allocating the first 25 million doses out of the 80 million doses the United States has pledged to donate by the end of June.
The administration stated that 75% of the vaccines will include Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson that will go to COVAX to be delivered equitably, US Chargé d’Affaires Shante Moore stated in a release on Thursday.
He said, “The United States will make the final selection of where the vaccines will go but six million doses will go to Latin America and the Caribbean.”
In a statement on Thursday, President Biden said, “At least 75% of these doses—nearly 19 million—will be shared through COVAX, including approximately six million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately seven million for South and Southeast Asia, and approximately five million for Africa, working in coordination with the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Chargé d’ Affaires Shante Moore said the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain has worked closely with regional counterparts, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, and officials in Washington DC to ensure the region would be included in this donation.
He said, “We are sharing these doses not to secure favors, extract concessions, or pursue hidden agendas. We are not imposing conditions the way other countries are doing. The vaccines are being donated, free and clear. We are giving them for a single purpose – to end the pandemic and save lives.
“We are sharing these vaccines, five times more than any other country has shared, to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our leadership, genuine concerns for humanity, and with our values. And we will continue to follow the science and work in close cooperation with our democratic partners to coordinate a multilateral effort, including through the G7.”
He said up to 25% of the 25 million vaccine doses will be used to help countries such as India dealing with immediate surges in a flexible manner.
Read US President Biden’s full statement….
