CORONAVIRUS/U.S. to send COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan in June

Washington, June 3 (CNA) The United States announced Thursday that it plans to send 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries around the world, including Taiwan, by the end of June.

The U.S. will share nearly 19 million of those doses through the global vaccine-sharing program COVAX, 7 million of which will be distributed to Asian countries including Taiwan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands, the White House said in a statement.

It did not specify how many doses each respective country will get.

"We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic," U.S. President Joe Biden said in another statement.

"The United States will be the world's arsenal of vaccines in our shared fight against this virus," Biden said.

The Biden administration has pledged to share at least 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses globally by the end of June.