This month, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. will support waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and Monday went even further, reporting that the U.S. will send at least 20 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna coronavirus vaccines overseas by the end of June to help fight the pandemic.

While this is welcome news, to offer immediate support and end the global pandemic faster, the White House must immediately begin sharing excess COVID-19 vaccines.

While wealthy countries continue ramping up vaccinations, only 0.4 percent of COVID-19 vaccines globally have been administered to people in low-income countries. The world is currently facing a vaccine access crisis, yet the Biden administration has secured over 550 million excess COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to a study by ONE, a global health advocacy organization.

If we want to reduce the spread of variants, reopen the global economy and end our COVID-19 nightmare, we need to end the pandemic everywhere. That means getting more vaccines to people across the world as quickly as possible.

We’re at risk of seeing one pandemic with two futures: one for wealthy countries that can get vaccines, and another for low-income countries that can’t. Maine’s elected leaders, including Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, should do more to help end the pandemic by calling on the Biden administration to do more to share America’s vaccine stockpile equitably with countries in need.

If the COVID-19 vaccine isn’t everywhere, this pandemic isn’t going anywhere.

Michelle Amato
Portland