U.S. donates an additional 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccines to Tanzania

Dr. Ngegwe Bulula, Acting Immunization and Vaccine Development Program Manager from the Ministry of Health, and Kate Somvongsiri, Mission Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Tanzania, pose for a photo in front of 1.6 million newly arrived COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the American people.

 

Tanzania yesterday accepted delivery of over 1.6 million Pfizer BioNTech vaccines donated by the government of the United States through the global COVAX vaccine sharing initiative. Dr. Ngegwe Bulula, Acting Immunization and Vaccine Development Program Manager from the Ministry of Health, officially received the donation from Kate Somvongsiri, Mission Director for USAID in Tanzania, during a ceremony at Julius Nyerere International Airport.

 

As part of its efforts to end the pandemic globally, the U.S. government has thus far donated over 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Tanzania. The U.S. shipped more than 1 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in July, enabling Tanzania to launch its nationwide vaccination campaign against the virus. In November, the U.S. government shipped 500,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to Tanzania to further support the country’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. These efforts are indicative of the U.S. government’s strong partnership and commitment to the Tanzanian people and our shared interest in defeating COVID-19 together.

 

“We are committed to helping Tanzania and the world win the fight against COVID-19. We commend the government of Tanzania for its efforts to vaccinate its population so far, and we hope this additional contribution of vaccine doses will accelerate the vaccination campaign and bring us closer to ending the pandemic,” said U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Donald Wright.

 

America’s support for the global fight against COVID-19 includes:

 

·      Donating 300 million vaccine doses to other countries.

·      Purchasing 1 billion vaccine doses to donate to nearly 100 developing countries.

·      Contributing $4 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in support of COVAX, the global initiative to equitably distribute safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.

·      Delivering essential medicines, supplies and therapeutics, as well as other assistance to help countries rebuild economies, overcome food shortages, and strengthen health security.

 

To date, the U.S. has provided more than 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and more than $1.9 billion in COVID-related assistance to African countries, with no strings attached.

 

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged that the United States will be the world’s arsenal of vaccines in the shared fight against COVID-19. “We will continue to do all we can to build a world that is safer and more secure against the threat of infectious disease,” Biden said earlier this year.

 

For more information, please contact the U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam Press Office at DPO@state.gov.