US announces sharing plan for 55mn Covid vaccine doses

Among the 55 million doses, around 41 million will be shared through COVAX, including approximately 14 million doses for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 16 million for Asia, and approximately 10 million for Africa, according to a White House statement, Xinhua reported.

The rest, about 14 million doses, will be shared directly with "regional priorities and other recipients," including Afghanistan, Iraq, West Bank and Gaza.

The allocation plan for the 55 million doses is the remaining portion of the Joe Biden administration's overall framework to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June. The White House had detailed the plan for the first tranche of 25 million doses earlier this month.

The Biden administration is expected to fall short of its initial commitment to send 80 million doses overseas by the end of this month.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the delay of the vaccine shipments was caused by logistical challenges.