Biden and leaders of Japan, Australia, India to unveil plans to boost coronavirus vaccine production

President Biden and other leaders of nations in the "Quad" alliance will unveil an agreement to ramp up production of coronavirus vaccines in Southeast Asia in a first-of-its-kind virtual meeting Friday, according to senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter.

A significant portion of the meeting will focus on mutual efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the officials said. The leaders will announce an agreement between the United States, India and Japan to finance increased vaccine production to address shortages in Southeast Asia. With the agreement in place, roughly 1 billion vaccines could be produced by 2022. The Quad leaders also will announce the establishment of a senior-level group of vaccination experts to coordinate efforts between the four nations. Biden will speak with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Secretary of State Tony Blinken will moderate the meeting, which is expected to last about 90 minutes.