The US is facilitating the first delivery of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccines to people living in conflict zones and other humanitarian settings, the nation's secretary of state said Wednesday.

Antony Blinken, who spoke at a virtual COVID-19 ministerial meeting, announced the US has helped broker a deal between Johnson & Johnson’s and COVAX to send the vaccines.

- We're eager for people in these difficult circumstances to get protection against COVID-19 as soon as possible. We know the urgency of this fight-  said the top diplomat. 

- We've got to be relentless because this pandemic is relentless. And we have to be coordinated, united, because that's what a global health emergency like this requires.-

This is the first time the US has gathered foreign ministers to discuss how to end the COVID-19 pandemic since it began nearly two years ago.Blinken said the pandemic is not just a health crisis but a security, economic and humanitarian crisis.

- That's why we need foreign ministers to step up and lead as well - he said.

He also said in North America and Europe, more than half the population is fully vaccinated but in Africa, it falls to less than 10%.

- We got to close that gap - he said.

According to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus data tracker, 250 million people have been infected with the virus and 5 million have died since December 2019.