Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on the Updated COVID-19 Global Response and Recovery Framework

Today, the Administration is releasing an updated COVID-19 Global Response and Recovery Framework. The world is in a very different place than when the first U.S. COVID-19 Global Response and Recovery Framework was released in July 2021. At that time, tens of thousands of people were dying from COVID-19 globally every week. Vaccine doses were in short supply globally, especially in low and lower-middle income countries, and oral antiviral treatments had not yet been approved.

Thanks to the leadership of the Biden Administration, the United States is leading the global fight against COVID-19, donating over 620 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 116 countries for free, more than any other country, and supporting global efforts to get shots into arms. The United States is proud to be an arsenal of vaccines for the world. Estimates indicate that global vaccinations averted nearly 20 million deaths in 2021 alone, and almost 70% of the world's population is now vaccinated.

While this is real progress, inequities persist, and our work is not finished. Too many countries lack equitable access to vaccines, tests, treatments and oxygen, and the capabilities needed to effectively deliver them. COVID-19 has also disrupted other essential health services and has placed an extraordinary burden on frontline health workers. Gaps in the global health security architecture remain, leaving us vulnerable to future COVID-19 variants and other pandemic threats.

Despite these challenges, the U.S. commitment to an equitable COVID-19 response and recovery remains unwavering, and we recognize that the United States and its international partners have the tools, expertise, and global leadership to turn COVID-19 from a global emergency into a manageable illness. Through driving forward in these areas, we hope to honor the more than 6.5 million people globally whose lives have been lost to this disease.

This updated Framework aims to end the emergency phase of the pandemic, asserting that the United States must work with its international partners to minimize COVID-19-related cases, hospitalizations and deaths; integrate COVID-19 response activities into existing health systems while ensuring impacts on other health services are minimized; and strengthen global readiness for future pandemic threats. To achieve these goals, we must work with partners to vaccinate the highest risk and hardest-to-reach; scale and integrate testing and treatment; and, prepare for future variants and pandemic threats.

Through this Framework, we aim to foster an equitable global recovery and safeguard the economic well-being and security of people in the United States and around the world.

The full text of the Framework can be found here: U.S. COVID-19 Global Response & Recovery Framework