Leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations formally announced plans Sunday to share at least 1 billion coronavirus shots with struggling countries around the world.
Half of those doses will come from the U.S. in a program that President Joe Biden officially announced on Thursday. Another 100 million will come from the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Speaking at the end of a G-7 leaders’ summit in southwest England on Sunday, Johnson said the doses would come both directly and through the international COVAX program.
The commitment falls far short of the 11 billion doses the World Health Organization said is needed to vaccinate at least 70% of the world’s population and truly end the pandemic.
The leaders on Saturday also announced that they have agreed to a global minimum tax on multinational corporations.
The decision had been widely anticipated after finance ministers earlier this month embraced placing a global minimum tax of at least 15% on large multinational companies to stop corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxes and thus robbing some countries of much-needed revenue.
The minimum rate was championed by the United States and dovetails with the aim of President Joe Biden to focus the three-day G-7 summit in England that just ended on ways the democracies can support a more fair global economy by working together.