The United States is being massively ridiculed for making a paltry donation of 80 vials of the Pfizer vaccine to Trinidad and Tobago, as part of its ongoing drive to supply jabs to developing countries.
USA Donates Vaccines to Trinidad and Tobago pic.twitter.com/5S0OTQfJU5
— U.S. Embassy POS (@USinTT) June 14, 2021
The donation, publicised through the social media account of the local US Embassy, has been attracting criticism from Internet users from across the world.
A single vial of the Pfizer vaccine carries five to six doses.
Many netizens have been left wondering if the US-exported jabs are meant just for the prime minister and other members of the government. A few others say that the US Embassy could have made a mistake and missed another zero.
Seriously @JoeBiden @BarackObama @FaheemYounus
— Pradhumn Kumar (@rickypradhumn) June 14, 2021
What a joke 🙄 https://t.co/wgS0f7YDTW
A wild guess says it's going to the PM and his ministers!
— Adorable Chubby Baby (@Babooshka1333) June 14, 2021
80 vials.
— Lazybean🐭❤️🇨🇳🇭🇰 (@gracebean284) June 14, 2021
Out of a container that supposedly holds 195 vials.
To a country with a population of 1.4 million. pic.twitter.com/QQrlIzuUxa
Meanwhile, many observers have compared the vaccine donations of the US to China, with the latter sending a second tranche of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm jab to the Caribbean nation, as per Chinese envoy Fang Qiu.
I am glad to update that the consignment of 200k doses of Sinopharm vaccines procured by the T&T government are en route to PoS! Delighted to be invited to welcome this second tranche of Sinopharm vaccines tomorrow at the airport! pic.twitter.com/aVehgirJo0
— FANG Qiu (@AmbFangQiu) June 14, 2021
The first batch of 100,000 Chinese Sinopharm vaccines was handed over to the Trinidad and Tobago government on 19 May, as per the Chinese Embassy in Port-of Spain.
Besides donations from the US and China, the Caribbean nation received 33,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which constituted the second consignment, through the COVAX facility on 12 May, as per an official release.
In April, India donated 40,000 doses of the domestically manufactured AstraZeneca jab to the island nation, where around 38 percent of the population has Indian heritage.
US President Joe Biden last month announced that Washington would be donating 80 million doses of American vaccines to other nations. Around 20 of the 80 million doses meant for export were to be those of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J), as per the White House.
The Biden administration announced at the time that nearly 60 million doses were to be of the AstraZeneca vaccine, left unused in the US.