The European Union is pledging to donate 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries by mid-2022.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the pledge Wednesday in France during her annual State of the European Union speech before the European Parliament.
Von der Leyen said the 200 million doses the EU plans to contribute is in addition to an earlier promise of 250 million doses, which she described as “an investment in solidarity, and it is an investment in global health.”
Von der Leyen said “the scale of injustice and the level of urgency is obvious” with less than 1% of all global doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in low- and middle-income countries.
Meanwhile, U.S. Army officials issued a mandatory vaccination order for all uniformed personnel. Officials said Tuesday that the Army expects all active-duty soldiers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 15, while imposing a deadline of June 30, 2022 for all Reserve and National Guard soldiers.
