Biden¡¯s plan to send extra Covid-19 shots overseas raises hope for vaccine swap deal with Korea

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]

U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a plan to send an additional 20 million doses of U.S.-approved Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines to other countries by the end of June, raising the possibility for the U.S. and South Korea to reach a vaccine swap deal at an upcoming summit meeting in Washington on Friday.

"Our vaccination program has led the world, and today we are taking an additional step to help the world," said President Biden in a speech at the White House on Monday (local time). The new commitment came after the president previously vowed to give 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines overseas, meaning that the U.S. will ship 80 million doses to other nations over the next few weeks.

The latest pledge by Biden is raising expectations that Korea could sign a vaccine swap agreement with the U.S., which would allow Seoul to receive extra vaccines from Washington in advance and send back the same amount later. Korea has been pushing ahead with the swap deal with the U.S. as it is currently facing a temporary shortage of vaccines with most of the 192 million doses it already purchased scheduled to be delivered in the latter half of the year.

Expectations are also running high that Seoul and Washington will strengthen their cooperation for vaccine production in Korea. Market watchers expect Samsung Biologics would soon sign a contract to roll out Moderna¡¯s Covid-19 vaccine in Korea.

[Photo by Yonhap]

The announcement of U.S. President came amid increasing criticisms on the U.S. for controlling overseas shipments of vaccines approved for use in the country. In the U.S., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines are approved while AstraZeneca is not.

In addition, the demand for vaccines in the country has been slowing down as it is expected to reach some levels of herd immunity around summer thanks to the rapid pace of vaccine rollouts.

Pledging to become an ¡°arsenal of vaccines¡± for the rest of the world, Biden said the vaccines that the U.S. will share with other countries will be far greater than any country has shared to date, including China and Russia, which have donated 15 million doses. "We'll share these vaccines in the service of ending the pandemic everywhere. And we will not use our vaccines to secure favors from other countries," he said.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]