US Ready To Give South Africa More COVID-19 Shots - White House

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2021) The United States is prepared to give South Africa additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines once the country is ready to receive them, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.

"We are prepared to provide (South Africa) with additional doses when they're prepared to receive them," Psaki said during a press briefing.

The US has sent close to 8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to South Africa so far, and over 93 million to the African continent as a whole, Psaki said.

The World Health Organization on Friday identified a new strain of the coronavirus first reported in South Africa, Omicron, as a variant of concern.

Cases of the Omicron variant have already been confirmed in multiple countries, prompting governments around the world to suspend travel with southern African nations in order to prevent its spread.

The Biden administration was among those who announced new travel restrictions on southern African countries in order to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. The decision was not meant to punish any country, but to protect the American people, Psaki said.