Issues in why it is not so easy for the U.S. to Share Its Vaccines

When Will the U.S. Share Its Vaccines? Here’s the latest news from the global pandemic. Drew Armstrong Bloomberg

Why isn’t the U.S. sharing its extra vaccine doses with the rest of the world? 

America led the world in buying up the messenger RNA vaccines that have proven most effective against Covid-19. It’s now starting to lead the world in not using them. 

Across the U.S., there are more than 27 million unused Moderna doses and 35 million from Pfizer and BioNTech,, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s led to calls by prominent public health voices to pack America’s surplus in dry ice and ship it to places like India, where the outbreak is still raging.

As American vaccinations slow and doses accumulate, the U.S. is at a health, ethical and diplomatic crossroads. Should it continue to buy and distribute millions of mRNA vaccines a week, targeting people who are in no hurry to be vaccinated or who are lower-risk? Or should it pare back its orders and free up drugmakers to send more doses to other countries in need?

While it might seem simple to box up the spares and send them out, the reality is far more complex, according to our latest report on the global vaccine supply.

There’s no stockpile of tens of millions of Moderna doses in a warehouse, ready to go. Most unused U.S. doses are scattered across tens of thousands of locations: state facilities, local pharmacies, vaccination sites and other locations. 

Pfizer is already sending some shots manufactured in the U.S. overseas. And there may be millions more unused doses from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca available to send out in the coming weeks or months; the exact date is unknown. 

But with the Biden administration rolling back pandemic guidelines on masking, in part to get vaccine fence-sitters to roll up their sleeves, there’s little indication the U.S. strategy of ensuring more-than-ample supply at home will change any time soon.

Unfortunately, even if unused U.S. inoculations were sent abroad, they would likely make barely a dent in the need. The globe needs billions of vaccines, not millions, and the places that are in crisis now may burn through their outbreaks before help could arrive. ...