G-7 nations gather to pledge 1 billion vaccine doses for world

World leaders from the Group of Seven industrialised nations are set to commit at their summit to share at least 1 billion coronavirus shots with struggling countries around the world half the doses coming from the US and 100 million from the UKVaccine sharing commitments from President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set the stage for the G7 leaders meeting in southwest England where leaders will pivot Friday from opening greetings and a family photo directly into a session on Building Back Better From Covid19Were going to help lead the world out of this pandemic working alongside our global partners Biden said adding that the G7 nations would join the US in outlining their vaccine donation commitments at the threeday summit The G7 also includes Canada France Germany Italy and JapanThe leaders meeting in the resort of Carbis Bay hope to energize the global economy as wellAlso read India will receive a share of 80 million US vaccines through COVAX State Dept officialOn Friday they are set to formally embrace a global minimum tax of at least 15 per cent on corporations seconding an agreement reached a week ago at a meeting of their finance ministers The minimum is meant to stop companies from using tax havens and other tools to avoid taxesBritains Prime Minister Boris Johnson C and his wife Carrie Johnson R walk with US President Joe Biden L and US First Lady Jill Biden at Carbis Bay Cornwall on June 10 2021 ahead of the threeday G7 summit being held from 1113 June Photo AFPIt represents a potential win for the Biden administration which has proposed a global minimum tax as a way to pay for infrastructure projects in addition to creating an alternative that could remove some European countries digital services taxes that largely hit US tech firmsFor Johnson the first G7 summit in two years last years was scuttled by the pandemic is a chance to set out his vision of a postBrexit Global Britain as a midsized country with an outsized role in international problemsolvingIts also an opportunity to underscore the UKUS bond an alliance often called the special relationshipAfter a meeting with Biden that both sides hailed as a success Johnson said he prefers the term indestructible relationshipThe official summit business starts Friday with the customary formal greeting and a socially distanced group photoLater the leaders will meet Queen Elizabeth II and other senior royals at the Eden Project a lush domed ecotourism site built in a former quarry pit The G7 leaders have faced mounting pressure to outline their global vaccinesharing plans especially as inequities in supply around the world have become more pronounced In the US there is a large vaccine stockpile and the demand for shots has dropped precipitously in recent weeksBiden said the US will donate 500 million Covid19 vaccine doses and previewed a coordinated effort by the advanced economies to make vaccination widely and speedily available everywhere The commitment was on top of 80 million doses Biden has already pledged to donate by the end of JuneJohnson for his part said the first 5 million UK doses would be shared in the coming weeks with the remainder coming over the next year He said he expected the G7 to commit to 1 billion doses in allAt the G7 Summit I hope my fellow leaders will make similar pledges so that together we can vaccinate the world by the end of next year and build back better from coronavirus Johnson said in a statement referencing a slogan that he and Biden have both usedFrench President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the US commitment and said Europe should do the same He said France would share at least 30 million doses globally by years endAt a news conference he said time was of the essenceIts almost more important to say how many doses we deliver the next month than making promises to be fulfilled in 18 months from now he saidBiden predicted the US doses and the overall G7 commitment would supercharge the global vaccination campaign adding that the US doses come with no strings attachedOur vaccine donations dont include pressure for favours or potential concessions Biden said Were doing this to save lives to end this pandemic thats itHe added Our values call on us to do everything that we can to vaccinate the world against Covid19The US commitment is to buy and donate 500 million Pfizer doses for distribution through the global COVAX alliance to 92 lowerincome countries and the African Union bringing the first steady supply of mRNA vaccine to the countries that need it mostUS President Joe Biden listens as Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla make a statements in St Ives Cornwall on June 10 2021 ahead of the threeday G7 summit being held from 1113 June Photo AFPThe Pfizer agreement came together with some urgency in the last four weeks at Bidens direction said a senior White House official both to meet critical needs overseas and to be ready for announcement at the G7The official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans added that the Biden administration was to apply the same wartime posture applied to the vaccine rollout in the US to its effort to share vaccines globallyBiden said the 500 million USmanufactured vaccines will be shipped starting in August with the goal of distributing 200 million by the end of the yearThe remaining 300 million doses would be shipped in the first half of 2022 A price tag for the doses was not released but the US is now set to be COVAXs largest vaccine donor in addition to its single largest funder with a USD 4 billion commitmentThe wellfunded global alliance has faced a slow start to its vaccination campaign as richer nations have locked up billions of doses through contracts directly with drug manufacturersBidens move officials said was meant to ensure a substantial amount of manufacturing capacity remains open to the wealthy nationsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or 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