Biden Administration Will Send U.S.-Authorized COVID Vaccines Abroad (UPDATE)

President Joe Biden is planning to export 20 million doses of U.S. coronavirus vaccines by the end of June, including shots authorized for domestic use, as reported by Bloomberg and announced at a briefing Monday.

Biden announced the decision Monday, as he plans to ship out 20 million doses of Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson, following the 60 million AstraZeneca doses already going to other countries, senior officials told Bloomberg. This is a first step as the U.S. attempts to assist with COVID-19 abroad as the U.S. leads an “entirely new effort,” as Biden said. Biden has previously shared that the U.S. would eventually become an “arsenal” of vaccine supply, which he repeated Monday. Jeff Zients, who has been the White House coronavirus response coordinator, is leading the effort, Biden shared.

“This will be more vaccines than any country has shared to date,” Biden said, adding that he wants to “lead the world with our values.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also confirmed the news, sharing that the shipments will “help countries battling the pandemic.”

“We are waiting for, of course, AstraZeneca, as you know, to go through the approval process of the FDA, but this will put 80 million doses out into the world by the end of June,” Psaki said.

The Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for use in the U.S., while AstraZeneca is not.

Previously this month, the Biden administration announced it supports waiving intellectual property protections for vaccines, in an effort to increase global access to the shots.

“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement. “The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines.”