US sends more than 8 million Covid vaccines to Bangladesh, Philippines

The United States announced Friday it is sending more than eight million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh and the Philippines in the latest wave of aid to a world still struggling to tame the pandemic.

Five shipments totalling 5,575,050 doses will go to the Philippines by next week, a White House official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, reports AFP.

Another 2,508,480 doses will arrive early next week in Bangladesh, the official said.

The vaccines -- all Pfizer-BioNTech -- are being donated through the World Health Organization's Covax program. 

The "administration understands that putting an end to this pandemic requires eliminating it around the world," the official said, noting that US donations represent "the largest-ever purchase and donation of vaccines by a single country."

Bangladesh has already received millions of US vaccine doses, including another 2.5 million sent just last week.