The United States delivered to Morocco, Saturday in Casablanca, the second batch of vaccines of the two shipments sent this week, totaling 1.6 million doses of Pfizer's anti-COVID-19 vaccine, through the COVAX program, a global initiative to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines.
This donation is in addition to the recent delivery of seven specially equipped freezers to Morocco, which increased the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to store COVID-19 vaccines.
The freezers, provided by USAID in coordination with UNICEF, have a storage capacity of more than 2 million doses of vaccine, which represents 45 percent of Morocco's ultra-cold chain storage capacity.
"The United States is committed to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, making an arsenal of vaccines available to the world and working closely with key allies like Morocco to help them rebuild and emerge even stronger," said Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, David Greene.
"For every vaccination we have given in the United States so far, the American people are currently offering three doses to other countries. To save lives around the world, rebuild the global economy, and stop the threat of new variants, we need to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible."
The Chargé d'Affaires witnessed the delivery of vaccine doses to Morocco's main storage center in Casablanca alongside Ministry of Health officials.
This donation is in addition to the delivery of 850,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine in October and the delivery of 300,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson single-use vaccine in July.
With a $4 billion contribution through USAID, the United States is the largest donor to the global COVAX initiative, which aims to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. To date, the U.S. government has provided more than 290 million doses of vaccine to more than 100 countries in need, and is making more than 1 billion doses of Pfizer vaccine available to 92 low- and middle-income countries and economies, as well as to the African Union.
