African countries to receive first U.S. donated COVID-19 vaccines in days - Gavi

FILE PHOTO: Gayle Smith listens as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces her appointment as the new State Department Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security during an event on U.S. leadership in fighting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the State Department in Washington, U.S., April 5, 2021. REUTERS/Al Drago/Pool

GENEVA (Reuters) - Nearly 50 African countries are to receive 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the United States, with the first shipments to Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Ethiopia in coming days, U.S. officials and the Gavi vaccine alliance said on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to share 80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world to protect the most vulnerable and stem transmission of the coronavirus.