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 The move marks a notable pivot from the White House as the
administration seeks to use the country's vaccine supply as a
diplomatic tool with the pandemic outlook brightening at home.
Biden announced on Monday that his administration will send doses of
the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson
vaccines, on top of 60 million AstraZeneca Plc doses he had already
planned to give to other countries.
Unlike the others, AstraZeneca's shot is not yet authorized for use
in the United States.
"Just as in World War Two America was the arsenal of democracy, in
the battle against COVID-19 pandemic our nation is going to be the
arsenal of vaccines," Biden said.
The president has been under pressure to share vaccines to help
contain worsening epidemics from India to Brazil, where health
experts fear new, more contagious coronavirus variants could
undermine the effectiveness of available shots.
Biden noted that no other country will send more vaccines abroad
than the United States. So far, the United Stages has sent a few
million AstraZeneca doses to Canada and Mexico.
"We want to lead the world with our values with this demonstration
of our innovation, ingenuity, and the fundamental decency of
American people," Biden said.
China, which has exported hundreds of millions of doses mainly to
developing countries and pledged to donate at least nearly 4 million
doses, said it welcomed the U.S. move but it would not use vaccines
as a tool in diplomatic relations.
"We welcome if the U.S. can implement its commitment to vaccine
assistance at an early date and provide tangible help to developing
countries in their fight against the epidemic," Zhao Lijian, a
spokesman at China's foreign ministry, said.
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 "Unlike the United States,
China will not use vaccine influence to lead the
world and will not chant empty slogans without
action," he said at a regular briefing on
Tuesday.
The White House has not provided any details
about what countries will receive the shots.
Biden said that Jeff Zients, who heads the U.S.
vaccine efforts, will now also lead the global
vaccine push. The United States
has administered more than 272 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and
distributed more than 340 million, according to federal data updated
on Monday morning.
With more and more Americans vaccinated, U.S. deaths from COVID-19
last week fell to their lowest in nearly 14 months, while the number
of new cases declined for a fifth consecutive week, according to a
Reuters analysis of state and county data.
Biden warned that those who do not get vaccinated "will end up
paying the price" as he lamented that "we're still losing too many
Americans" despite the significant progress.
(Reporting By Steve Holland, Carl O'Donnell and Jarrett Renshaw;
Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Writing by Jarrett Renshaw;
Editing by Trevor Hunnicutt, Bill Berkrot and Andrew Heavens)
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