June 10, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) President and CEO, Liz Schrayer, released the following statement in response to President Biden’s commitment to purchase 500 million Pfizer vaccines to share globally through the COVAX alliance:
Today’s announcement that the U.S. will purchase and donate 500 million Pfizer vaccines to COVAX—enough shots to fully vaccinate 250 million people—is the kind of U.S. global leadership all Americans can be proud of and thankful for. It’s an American investment that will not only reverse the trend on global vaccine inequity and save lives around the world but make every American safer as virus variants and surges continue worldwide.
A big shoutout to our USGLC board member Pfizer, who along with so many frontline manufacturers, suppliers, and on-the-ground providers has been working tirelessly to stop the spread and get shots in arms. Turning to the critical task of distributing and delivering these doses, we can learn a lot from PEPFAR and Gavi—incredible, life-saving programs that understand the power of last-mile delivery to tackle global health challenges like HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Today’s announcement is a critical step forward—a vaccine Marshall Plan that should make all Americans immensely proud.
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (www.usglc.org) is a broad-based influential network of 500 businesses and NGOs; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic, military, and community leaders in all 50 states who support strategic investments to elevate development and diplomacy alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world.