Biden administration to send 3 million vaccine doses to Guatemala
The U.S. plans to announce Monday that it is sending 3 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to Guatemala, according to a White House official.
This shipment is going to the Central American country Monday as a part of an agreement between the U.S. and Guatemala and will arrive on Tuesday, the official said. The Biden administration has already sent millions of doses to Guatemala, a country at the forefront of the immigration debate. The last batch of 1.5 million doses arrived on July 8 in Guatemala City.
The official added that the administration was "proud to be able to deliver these safe and effective vaccines to the people of Guatemala."
Earlier this summer, the Guatemalan health minister asked Russia for a refund for approximately $80 million on an expected 8 million Russian Sputnik B COVID-19 vaccine doses because Russia had only delivered 150,000 of the doses.
In June, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei met with Vice President Kamala Harris on her first international trip to Guatemala and Mexico.
"We need the vaccine and hopefully the U.S. will contribute to us," Giammattei told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe in an interview in June, ahead of his meeting with Harris.
Guatemalan Ambassador to the U.S. Alfonso Quiñónez told CBS News, "We are very grateful to the US Government for this generous gesture."
Last week the U.S. said it would be sending 3.5 million Moderna doses to Argentina.
