US says it brokered deal to send COVID vaccine to conflict zones

The US is facilitating the first delivery of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccines to people living in conflict zones and other humanitarian settings, the nation's secretary of state said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Antony Blinken, who spoke at a virtual COVID-19 ministerial meeting, announced the US has helped broker a deal between Johnson & Johnson and COVAX to send the vaccines.

"We're eager for people in these difficult circumstances to get protection against COVID-19 as soon as possible. We know the urgency of this fight," said the top diplomat. "We've got to be relentless because this pandemic is relentless. And we have to be coordinated, united because that's what a global health emergency like this requires."

This is the first time the US has gathered foreign ministers to discuss how to end the COVID-19 pandemic since it began nearly two years ago.

Blinken said the pandemic is not just a health crisis but security, economic and humanitarian crisis.

"That's why we need foreign ministers to step up and lead as well," he said.

He also said in North America and Europe, more than half the population is fully vaccinated but in Africa, it falls to less than 10%.

"We got to close that gap," he said.

According to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus data tracker, 250 million people have been infected with the virus and 5 million have died since December 2019.

News.Az

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