By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden will push world leaders on Wednesday to do more to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, and announce a U.S. pledge to buy 500 million more vaccine doses to donate to other countries.

Holding a virtual summit to boost global vaccination rates, Biden hopes to show he is leading by example with the pledge https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-donate-an-additional-500-mln-covid-19-vaccines-world-2021-09-21, which will bring U.S. donations to the rest of the world up to more than 1.1 billion doses.

The vaccines from Pfizer Inc (NYSE:) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:) will be made in the United States and shipped to low and lower middle-income countries starting in January, a U.S. senior administration official said ahead of the announcement.

The U.S. has made a significant commitment to this project. The official said that for every shot given in the United States, there will now be three.

According to a source, the government will pay $7 for each dose.

Biden’s administration purchased 500 million doses and agreed to donate them. According to the contract, Pfizer will pay BioNTech and BioNTech approximately $3.5billion or $7 each for shots.

It has been criticized that the United States plans booster shots for fully-vaccinated Americans when millions of others around the world do not have the vital vaccines.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reprimanded world leaders https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/un-chief-grades-world-vaccine-rollout-f-ethics-2021-09-21 on Tuesday for the inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, describing it as an “obscenity” and giving the globe an “F in Ethics.”

According to another official, the summit will concentrate on the prevention of pandemics, promoting vaccinations, addressing oxygen shortages and making medicine more accessible.

The goal is to get 70% of the world’s population vaccinated before next year.