US lags behind Russia, China in helping struggling nations combat COVID-19: media

WASHINGTON - The United States hasn't exported any coronavirus vaccines so far to other countries in dire need, lagging behind Russia and China in global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, national broadcaster CBS reported on Tuesday.

"America ordered enough vaccines to vaccinate its population twice, while many other countries are still struggling to secure them," CBS said, adding that many nations struggling to get vaccines "have turned to other world powers like China and Russia to secure doses".

With about 4 percent of the world's population, the United States has hoarded about 2.6 billion doses of vaccines, a quarter of the global total.

US President Joe Biden on Monday announced that his country will send 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries. That's in addition to the 60 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine Washington promised to be delivered aboard by July.

US foreign policy expert Eyck Freymann was quoted by CBS as saying the situation has left many countries helpless.

"They can see it in the headlines that Americans are taking off their masks and getting back to normal life, and yet their grandmother is getting sick because she couldn't get a vaccine," he said.