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By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) – Seventy-six wealthy nations have now pledged to join a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to help buy and distribute fairly. injections, the co-director of the project. he said Wednesday.
Seth Berkley, executive director of the GAVI vaccine alliance, said the coordinated plan, known as COVAX, now has Japan, Germany, Norway and more than 70 countries enrolled, agreeing in principle to procure COVID-19 vaccines through the facility. for their populations.
“We have, as of now, 76 upper-middle and upper-income countries that have submitted confirmations of their intention to participate, and we expect that number to increase,” Berkley told Reuters in an interview.
“This is good news. It shows that the COVAX facility is open to the public and is attracting the kind of interest around the world that we expected,” he said.
COVAX coordinators are in talks with China about whether it could also join, Berkley said.
“Yesterday we had a discussion with the (Chinese) government,” Berkley said. “We still have no signed agreement with them,” but Beijing has given “a positive signal,” he added.
COVAX is co-led by GAVI, WHO, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and is designed to deter national governments from stockpiling COVID-19 vaccines and focus on vaccinating the highest-risk people first in each country.
Supporters say this strategy should lead to lower vaccine costs for everyone and a quicker end to the pandemic that has claimed some 860,000 lives worldwide.
Rich countries that join COVAX will fund vaccine purchases from their national budgets and partner with 92 poorer countries supported through voluntary donations to the plan to ensure vaccines are delivered equitably, Berkley said.
Rich participating countries are also free to purchase vaccines through bilateral agreements and other schemes.
The United States said Tuesday that it would not join COVAX due to the Trump administration’s objection to WHO’s involvement, a move described by some critics as “disappointing.” Berkley said he was not surprised by the US decision, but would seek to continue talks with Washington.
In what appeared to be a change in position on Wednesday, the European Union said its member states could purchase potential COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX.
COVAX coordinators sought to add flexibility to the union agreements to encourage greater participation, Berkley said.
The WHO describes COVAX as an “invaluable insurance policy” for all countries to ensure access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines when they are developed and approved. The coordinators of the plan have set a deadline of September 18 for countries that sign up to make binding commitments.
COVAX’s goal is to acquire and deliver 2 billion doses of approved vaccines by the end of 2021. It currently has nine COVID-19 vaccine candidates in its portfolio employing a variety of different technologies and scientific approaches.
Some are already in late-stage clinical trials and may have data available by the end of the year.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
