G7 leaders to pledge 1bn Covid-19 vaccine doses for poorer countries

G7 leaders to pledge 1bn Covid-19 vaccine doses for poorer countries

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Leaders of the G7 economies convening in the UK will announce a pledge to provide 1bn coronavirus doses to poorer countries as part of a plan to "vaccinate the world“ by the end of 2022.

The move, to be outlined at the start of the three-day summit on Friday, is designed to address criticism that wealthy western governments have secured the bulk of life-saving Covid-19 vaccines from manufacturers to immunise their own populations. The vow is also an attempt to counter "vaccine diplomacy“ by Beijing and Moscow, which have been quick to sell their jabs to developing nations.

Hosting the G7 summit in Cornwall, Britain's picturesque southern tip, prime minister Boris Johnson is due to announce on Friday that the UK will donate 100m surplus vaccine doses in the next 12 months, according to aides.

After a face-to-face meeting with his hostin Carbis Bay, on the rural Cornish coast, US president Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a commitment to purchase 500m Covid-19 vaccines made by BioNTech/Pfizer and donate them to some of the world's poorest countries. This includes 200m this year and the rest in the first half of next year.

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