(Adds details, Foreign Secretary quote)
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Britain will start delivering 9
million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine this week
to countries including Indonesia, Jamaica and Kenya to help
tackle the pandemic, the government said on Wednesday.
Some 5 million doses were being offered to COVAX, the scheme
to ensure equitable, global access to COVID-19 vaccines, while
another 4 million doses will be shared directly with countries
in need.
"The first batch - 9 million doses - will be going out on
Friday," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told broadcasters,
adding that they would go to countries including Laos, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya and Jamaica.
"We're not just doing it because it's in our own interest,
it shows global Britain as a life saving force for good in the
world," he said.
Indonesia will receive 600,000 doses, 300,000 will be sent
to Jamaica and 817,000 will go to Kenya, among other countries,
the government said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to donate at
least 100 million surplus COVID-19 vaccines within the next year
as a contribution to the efforts of the G7 to help poorer
countries innoculate their citizens.
The donation announced on Wednesday is the first tranche of
that pledge, the government said.
The announcement came as Johnson was due to meet Kenya's
President Uhuru Kenyatta in Britain.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; writing by Kate Holton)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
