The countries producing the most COVID-19 vaccines
19 March 2021
The Biden administration on Thursday took a modest first step toward sharing coronavirus vaccines with the world, announcing that it intends to send 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses to Canada and 2.5 million to Mexico.
Why it matters: The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University hasn't been approved in the U.S., and the White House has faced growing criticism for sitting on doses that could be used elsewhere
- The deal comes in the form of a loan, with the U.S. sending doses to Canada and Mexico now with the expectation that they will return doses to the U.S. later this year.
The big picture: The world has four major sources of coronavirus vaccines: China (33% of all doses produced), the U.S. (27%), the EU (19%) and India (13%), according to data shared with Axios by Airfinity, a science information and analytics company.
- While China has exported around 60% of the vaccines it has produced — in part due to a low sense of urgency in China, where the virus is largely under control — the U.S. has exported 0%, focusing instead on covering all U.S. adults.
- India has exported 65% of its production to date, per Airfinity, but the CEO of the country's largest producer said last month that he'd been "directed to prioritize the huge needs of India."
- The EU is having a vigorous debate about whether to more tightly control exports, lamenting what it sees as an imbalance with the U.S. and U.K.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.