U.S. to donate two million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Ecuador; First shipment to arrive next week

President Guillermo Lasso confirmed Tuesday that the U.S. government will donate two million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Ecuador. The U.S. embassy in Quito said the donation was part of a program to donate millions of doses to more than 80 developing countries.

U.S. President Joe Biden

“I want to thank President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and people of the U.S. for this generous gift,” Lasso said in a statement on WhatsApp. “This is a reflection of the excellent relationship Ecuador enjoys with the U.S. and it is my intention to make the relationship even stronger.”

Lasso said the vaccines, the first of which will arrive next week, are crucial to the plan to vaccinated nine million Ecuadorians by September. “We have commitments for more than enough vaccines to meet this goal and beyond but the problem is the timing of deliveries. Knowing that these vaccines will arrive in July assures of us of meeting our objective.”

According to the Ministry of Public Health, more than four million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered as of Monday, with almost 75 percent of the elderly and vulnerable population fully vaccinated with the Pfizer, AztraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines.