US urged to share vaccines with Central America

As its COVID-19 vaccine supply begins to outpace demand, the United States is being urged to avoid "vaccine nationalism" and share its surplus of shots with struggling countries in Central America.

More than one-fourth of the population of the U.S. — nearly 90 million people — has been fully vaccinated and supplies are so robust that some states are turning down planned shipments from the federal government.

Meanwhile, Honduras has obtained a paltry 59,000 vaccine doses for its 10 million people.

After waiting for months, doctor Rosalío Zavala received the first dose of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Tegucigalpa on Friday.

Zavala believes Honduras' efforts to acquire jabs were focused more on expecting charity than investing in the wellbeing of its people.

J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president and director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, pointed out that the United States is not alone in having chosen to be "inward, nationalistic" and "postponing opening up to the to the rest of the world" with its vaccine supply.

But the lack of U.S. vaccine assistance around the world created an opportunity for China and Russia, which have each promised millions of doses of domestically produced shots to other countries.

Biden, who took office in January as the virus was raging in the U.S., has responded cautiously to calls for help from abroad.

The U.S. has also used the Defense Production Act to secure vital supplies for the production of vaccine, a move that has blocked the export of some supplies outside the country.

There are also concerns that the U.S. might link vaccine sharing to other diplomatic efforts.

Washington's loan of 2.7 million doses of AstraZeneca's shots to Mexico last month came on the same day Mexico announced it was restricting crossings at its southern border, an effort that could help decrease the number of migrants seeking entry into the United States.

Those sort of parallel tracks of diplomacy will be closely watched as the Biden administration decides with whom to share its surplus vaccine, particularly in Central America, home to many countries where migrant families and unaccompanied children are trying to make their way to the U.S.

"There are people getting sick and dying every day throughout the world (and) in Latin America that need life saving vaccines. And if the U.S. has such an increased over abundance of supply, this is where we should be, for humanitarian reasons and for the world economic recovery," said Maureen Meyer, vice president for programs at the Washington Office on Latin America.

(Image Credit: AP)