The U.S. has fallen far short of its own target of donating some 1.1 billion Covid-19 vaccines to developing countries by the end of September, as many recipient governments, particularly in Africa, wrestle with low demand for the shots and limited funding to distribute them.
President Biden made the pledge last September at a virtual summit with other world leaders. At the time, many poor nations had been waiting for months to get Covid-19 shots to their most vulnerable citizens after limited early supplies were bought up by the U.S. and Europe, and India had blocked exports of doses produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker. Hundreds of thousands of people died as the Alpha, Gamma and Delta variants swept across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
