The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has welcomed a second donation of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to fight the pandemic in Mali and around the world. This shipment of 168,000 vaccine doses arrived in Bamako, Mali, on October 23, 2021, and was delivered to Mali’s Ministry of Health and Social Development.
“I am proud to be here today for this timely vaccine contribution to Mali, which will save countless lives. The United States is committed to serving as an arsenal of vaccines to the world,” Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said, echoing President Biden’s commitment of U.S. leadership in the response the pandemic.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worked closely with Mali’s Ministry of Health, UNICEF, WHO and GAVI, on distribution and use of the first shipment of 151,200 J & J vaccines donated by the United States to Mali. All doses from this initial vaccine shipment were used during the month of September, with a low wastage rate of only 4%. We are confident this second shipment of J & J vaccines will benefit the most at-risk Malians and those living in hard-to-reach areas.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, in Mali as part of a UN Security Council delegation, emphasized the high priority the United States places on the international cooperation to end the pandemic. At the United Nations Global COVID-19 Summit on September 22, U.S. President Biden stated, “nothing is more urgent than all of us working together to defeat COVID-19.” The United States is proud to be the largest single donor to the COVAX global initiative on COVID-19, through which these vaccines have been delivered.
President Biden had pledged in his remarks at the Global COVID-19 Summit that “the United States will continue to lead. We’ll continue to drive historic commitments in vaccine donations — 1.1 billion and counting — so we can defeat COVID-19 together.”
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
