GENEVA: The World Health Organization is in talks with India to join the global ‘Covax’ vaccine allocation plan, a senior WHO adviser said on Monday.
“India is certainly eligible, like every country in the world, to be part of the Covax facility and discussions are ongoing about it,” Bruce Aylward said at a briefing in Geneva.
“We would appreciate India’s participation … India has extensive experience (with vaccines),” he added.
WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance are leading the Covax facility, which aims to help purchase and distribute novel coronavirus vaccines fairly around the world. But some countries that have secured their own supplies through bilateral agreements, including the United States, have said they will not join Covax.
The WHO had established a mechanism, known as Covax, aimed at ensuring a more equitable distribution of future vaccines.
UNICEF had announced that it will lead the procurement and supply of vaccines to ensure that all countries have safe, rapid and equitable access to initial doses when available.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the world’s largest buyer of vaccines, purchasing more than 2 billion doses of various vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.
The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, involving more than 170 economies, has the potential to become the world’s largest and fastest such operation.
“India is certainly eligible, like every country in the world, to be part of the Covax facility and discussions are ongoing about it,” Bruce Aylward said at a briefing in Geneva.
“We would appreciate India’s participation … India has extensive experience (with vaccines),” he added.
WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance are leading the Covax facility, which aims to help purchase and distribute novel coronavirus vaccines fairly around the world. But some countries that have secured their own supplies through bilateral agreements, including the United States, have said they will not join Covax.
The WHO had established a mechanism, known as Covax, aimed at ensuring a more equitable distribution of future vaccines.
UNICEF had announced that it will lead the procurement and supply of vaccines to ensure that all countries have safe, rapid and equitable access to initial doses when available.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the world’s largest buyer of vaccines, purchasing more than 2 billion doses of various vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.
The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, involving more than 170 economies, has the potential to become the world’s largest and fastest such operation.
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