The United States on Thursday delivered 101,790 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Gabon, as the Biden administration continues to partner with African nations to combat a pandemic that has killed millions of people around the world, hundreds of thousands of them in Africa.
The latest donation from the American people is in addition to the 100,620 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 168,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that the U.S. has already provided.
“This is the product of a great deal of collaboration between the United States government, COVAX, and the African Union,” United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, where she has been on an African tour with the United Nations Security Council. “We are providing these vaccines with no political strings attached. We only have one singular objective, and that is to save lives and stop this pandemic. And I know that these donations are in addition to the vaccines Gabon has already purchased itself for its citizens.”
Thomas-Greenfield note that COVID-19 has hit Gabon hard, and in waves, with infection rates still high.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a simple truth: no one is safe until everyone is safe. That is why the United States is committed, in President Biden’s words, to being the world’s arsenal for vaccines,” she said in remarks.
She said the U.S. government in the coming weeks will be sharing more vaccine doses with nearly every African country.
Thomas-Greenfield added, “I want to make sure that the Gabonese people understand: Our vaccines have been used widely in the United States. They are the product of rigorous testing. And they will significantly reduce your chance of death and hospitalization from COVID-19.
“As we’ve all learned, no country can defeat this pandemic by itself. We must work together. So, it was a pleasure to see President Bongo join President Biden’s COVID-19 Summit in September. We welcome continued Gabonese leadership as we collectively work to combat COVID-19 and to strengthen public health around the world.”
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.