US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced his plans to allocate 75 per cent - nearly 19 million of the first tranche of 25 million doses - of unused Covid-19 vaccines through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia and Africa.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and three other world leaders and informed them that the US will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to their countries. President Biden provided details on how the US will allocate the first 25 million of the vaccines to lay the ground for increased global coverage and to address real and potential surges, high burdens of disease, and the needs of the most vulnerable countries. “At least 75 percent of these doses - nearly 19 million - will be shared through COVAX, including approximately 6 million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 7 million for South and Southeast Asia, and approximately 5 million for Africa,” Biden said.