WASHINGTON, June  15, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The United States on Wednesday 
announced it was starting to donate vaccines for children abroad with initial 
shipments to Nepal and Mongolia.
       
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that 2.2 million doses for children 
aged five to 12 would head to Nepal and another 300,000 to Mongolia in a 
partnership with the UN-backed Covax program.
      
 "We've got many more ready to go for countries that want them," Blinken 
told a meeting on the pandemic response.
       
The United States, after initially prioritizing Covid vaccines at home, has 
been the leader in donations overseas, with Blinken saying this week that 550 
million doses have been shipped, about half of what it has promised to give by 
the end of the year.
      
 Despite vaccine hesitancy in sections of the public, the United States has 
also been ahead in efforts to immunize children.
      
 President Joe Biden's administration has sought to contrast its donations 
with efforts by China and Russia, arguing that the US adversaries, while moving quickly, had commercial or political motives.
      
 The United States has put a key focus on donating vaccines to densely 
populated developing nations, led by Bangladesh and Pakistan.
       
Blinken warned the meeting against "pandemic fatigue" and a loss of 
political will.
      
 "The United States continues to be intently focused on fighting the 
pandemic and leaving the world better prepared and better defended for whatever comes next," he said.