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AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said their potential vaccine had shown an average 70% effectiveness in stopping the virus after testing it in 23,000 people, days after tests of two other vaccine candidates suggested they were more than 90% effective. .
The international vaccine procurement group aims to get its hands on two billion doses of safe and effective vaccines by the end of next year.
GENEVA – With COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, the planet’s poorest must not be trampled on as countries struggle to get their hands on them, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the latest batch of promising results from end-stage candidate vaccine trials showed there was light at the end of the “long dark tunnel” of the coronavirus pandemic.
But he said the world had to make sure they were distributed fairly around the world.
“Every government rightly wants to do everything it can to protect its people,” Tedros said at a virtual press conference.
“But now there is a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable will be trampled on in the vaccine stampede.”
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said their future vaccine had shown an average 70% effectiveness in stopping the virus after testing it in 23,000 people, days after tests of two other vaccine candidates suggested they were more than 90% effective. .
“With the latest positive news from vaccine trials, the light at the end of this long dark tunnel is getting brighter. There is now real hope that vaccines, in combination with other tried and tested public health measures, will help. to end the pandemic. ” Tedros said.
“The importance of this scientific achievement cannot be underestimated. No vaccine in history has developed as rapidly as these. The scientific community has set a new standard for vaccine development.”
COLLECTIVE VACCINES PROJECT
The new coronavirus has killed nearly 1.39 million people and more than 58.6 million cases have been recorded since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a count from official sources compiled by AFP.
Anticipating the huge demand for any approved vaccine, WHO has helped create the so-called Covax facility to ensure equitable distribution. Tedros said there are now 187 countries on board.
The international vaccine procurement group aims to get its hands on two billion doses of safe and effective vaccines by the end of next year.
However, it is struggling to raise the funds needed to serve the 92 low-income countries and other economies that joined quickly.
Tedros said $ 4.3 billion is needed immediately to support the massive procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, while another $ 23.8 billion would be needed in 2021.
“The real question is not whether the world can afford to share Covid-19 vaccines and other tools, but whether it can afford not to,” Tedros said.
Leaders at the G20 virtual summit said Sunday they would “spare no effort” to ensure a fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines, but the united front was pierced by Angela Merkel, who expressed concern about the slow progress.
The German chancellor said she was concerned that major deals on vaccines for poorer nations have not yet been reached, even as rich countries have already bought a large number of doses from pharmaceutical companies.
The summit promised to support poor countries whose economies have been devastated by the crisis, but offered few details.
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