America is back. Now the rest of the world responds

PRESIDENT Joe Biden's announcement on the eve of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit that the US would donate 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses to about 100 lower-income countries, the largest contribution of any nation, carried a certain symbolism.

Former president Donald Trump's failed response to the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the main reasons for Mr Biden's election victory last year. The American public counted on the new president to lead the fight against the deadly virus and win it, while moving ahead to revive a depressed economy. Mr Biden has fulfilled these expectations, launching a massive vaccination campaign that allowed the US to go from having one of the worst Covid responses in the world to becoming a global leader in getting vaccine shots in arms. At the same time, under Mr Biden the US economy has seen a sharp rebound after the pandemic-induced contraction, growing at the fastest pace since 1984.

After leading America back to business, the president arrived at the G-7 summit in Cornwall, Britain, ready to fulfil another pledge he made during the election campaign: Demonstrating to the world that "America is back" and ready to play its leadership role in promoting a multilateralist economic and security system after four years during which it slid in an isolationist and protectionist direction under Mr Trump's "America First" agenda. From that perspective, President Biden's decision to aggressively address the global coronavirus vaccine shortage could be seen as an important step in reasserting the US as a global leader and in restoring relations with the rest of the world that unravelled under his predecessor.