U.S. to send 3.5 million Moderna doses to Argentina, biggest vaccine shipment yet to Latin America

Washington — The Biden administration is sending 3.5 million Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses to Argentina on Friday, a White House official told CBS News. The shipment, which will arrive Saturday, is the largest shipment of COVID-19 vaccines so far by the U.S. to a Latin American country, and the first mRNA vaccine to be sent.

"America will be the arsenal of vaccines in our fight against COVID-19. We are proud to be able to deliver these safe and effective vaccines to the people of Argentina," the White House official said, quoting President Biden.  The South American country has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, Argentina  surpassed more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the global pandemic and nearly 5 million overall cases, according to statistics released by the Argentine Health Ministry. Argentina, with a population of 45 million, is the fifth country in Latin America to have reached that number.