With an Eye on China, U.S. Appoints Veteran Aid Industry Executive to Lead Vaccine Distribution Effort

Gayle Smith speaks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced her appointment as the new State Department Coordinator for Global COVID Response and Health Security. ALEXANDER DRAGO / POOL / AFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that Gayle Smith, a former U.S. Agency for International Development administrator and chief executive of the ONE Campaign to eradicate poverty and preventable disease, will become Washington’s point person on global vaccine distribution.

The U.S. expects to have most of its population vaccinated by late May, early June when officials claim the White House will then turn its attention to shipping jabs overseas, presumably under the direction of Smith.

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by Eric Olander

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