The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

A UNITED States official said the Biden administration has not made a final decision yet on which countries will benefit from America’s promised vaccine sharing but stressed the COVID-19 situation in CARICOM and Latin American nations has been “front of mind”.

Gayle E Smith, coordinator for global COVID response and health security at the US Department of State, hosted a telephone press briefing yesterday discussing the US government’s support of global COVID-19 vaccinations.

This comes after President Joe Biden’s announcement to share 20 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines with other countries in addition to the 60 million doses already committed.

“The situation across the CARICOM countries and Latin America has been front of mind for the United States given that this is indeed in our hemisphere,” Ms Smith said.

“We are looking at all regions given the constraints in vaccine supply literally everywhere.

“We have not made final decisions but I can tell you that we are looking closely at every region and that we are well aware of, and I have the honour of meeting with several representatives of CARICOM, of the acute need in fact on or near our borders.”

If these vaccines are deployed to this region, they may not come directly from the US government as President Biden has overseen a heavy donation to the World Health Organization’s COVAX Facility since taking office.

The US is a leading partner to COVAX and the vaccines might be distributed to The Bahamas and other countries through that machinery.

Ms Smith, the former administrator of USAID under President Obama, said the US is working very closely with COVAX.

“We are consulting closely with COVAX, which as you know is the largest vaccine delivery platform in the world and that is focused on low income and low middle income countries,” she said.

“And, with our partners, in order to initiate a process where we start to get the global coverage we need, we are very strong supporters of COVAX.

“The president made a $2 billion contribution shortly after taking office, which puts us out front as the primary donor.

“We are in very close touch with them on a regular basis, coordinating with them, and of course we look at COVAX as an absolutely critical and essential platform for allocation.

“Vaccines are the tools for public health.

“They are the means for bringing this pandemic to an end.

“We do not see them as or intend to use as means for influence or pressure and our decisions will be made on the basis of need, public health data and again collaboration with key partners, including COVAX.”

In total, the US has committed to sharing 80 million vaccine doses with other countries.

“So that means we are going to be putting 80 million additional vaccines into the mix, making up the largest sharer of vaccines thus far,” Ms Smith continued. “Now that’s only one part of our strategy on vaccines. I think as we all know, supply is a very big issue and we need many more vaccines for countries all over the world.

“To that end we are working with producers on increasing the supplies and also on the supply chain. The component parts that make up the vaccine are in shortage in some cases so we are working to increase that production so supplies increase.

“Another way we are working to increase supplies is through our Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to make investments in manufacturing sites around the world with an injection of capital that can increase supply over the short and medium term.”

Just days after a Chinese official in The Bahamas criticised the US for “hoarding” vaccinations and “doing very little” to assist other countries, Ms Smith pointed out ways in which the US is helping various nations.

“The vaccine strategy is part of a broader strategy for the United States.

“As you know it’s critical to ensure that there is both vaccine uptake, but also diagnostics, testing, therapeutics and other supplies are available,” she said.

“We are pushing out over a billion dollars increasing our support for that effort and at the same time providing humanitarian assistance, not only for countries where we are seeing a surge, but more broadly to people all over the world who have felt the impact of this pandemic on their economic livelihood, their wellbeing and their health.”

Ms Smith served on the National Security Council for both President Obama and President Clinton. Prior to the State Department, her most recent role was president and CEO of the ONE Campaign, which fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, primarily in Africa.