Pedro Sánchez announces that Spain will donate an extra 7.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total to 30 million doses

New York (United States)

Sánchez, who is in the United States to participate in the General Debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, has addressed the commitments that Spain will assume in the fight against the pandemic and has announced a new donation of vaccines "to guarantee access to vaccines to all the regions that still do not have them".

The President of the Government of Spain underlined: "The end of the pandemic depends on our ability to work together in a spirit of solidarity. Spain has acted from the outset mindful of this collective responsibility and we continue to take decisive action".

The president announced that Spain will donate a further 7.5 million vaccines, bringing the overall amount to 30 million doses. To date, the President of the Government of Spain had announced that Spain would donate 22.5 million vaccines through the COVAX mechanism.

"I am particularly concerned about Latin America and the Caribbean, which make up less than 9% of the world's population, but account for 30% of COVID-19 deaths globally," Sanchez said.

Spain therefore pledged at the Ibero-American Summit in Andorra in April this year to deliver 7.5 million vaccines to the region. The president announced today that this commitment has been fulfilled and that this figure will now be doubled, bringing the total donation for the region to 15 million doses.

During his speech, the President of the Government of Spain also announced that 7.5 million vaccines will be sent to sub-Saharan Africa and to countries in the European Union's Southern Neighbourhood.

Spain, a country committed to the fight against the pandemic

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Spain has contributed with pioneering national and international projects such as 'Vaccines for all', an international initiative that seeks to increase vaccine production and expand its distribution to all countries "to leave no one behind". In total, Spain has contributed more than 180 million euros to multilateral efforts to combat COVID-19.

Spain is also collaborating with the WHO to openly license a test for COVID-19 developed in Spain by CSIC scientists. The technology, which is able to differentiate antibodies produced by vaccination from those produced by COVID-19 infection with 99% reliability, could be a useful diagnostic tool for countries with fewer resources.

The President of the Government of Spain concluded his speech by reiterating that Spain supports the adoption of an International Treaty on Pandemics to strengthen global health governance because, as he pointed out, "we have to lay the foundations to be better prepared for future pandemics and we are taking important steps to transform reflection into action".

Non official translation