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GENEVA: The COVAX alliance, which aims to ensure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, said on Friday (December 18) that it now had agreements in place for nearly 2 billion doses, roughly doubling its supply. , and that the first deliveries must be made early. 2021.
The initiative, co-led by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said it aimed to deliver 1.3 billion doses of approved vaccines next year to 92 eligible low and medium level individuals. -income economics.
The 190 economies that have subscribed to COVAX “will have access to the doses in the first half of 2021, and the first deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021, depending on regulatory approvals and countries’ preparation for the delivery, “he said in a statement.
“Today’s announcements offer the clearest path yet to end the acute phase of the pandemic by protecting the world’s most vulnerable populations.”
READ: WHO’s vaccine scheme ‘runs the risk of failing’, leaving poor countries without COVID-19 injections until 2024
New deals announced Friday include an advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca for 170 million doses and a MOU for 500 million doses from Johnson & Johnson.
Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said the COVAX alliance was also in talks with Pfizer and BioNtech, whose COVID-19 obtained regulatory approval in the United States last week and in Britain this month. The group is also in talks with Moderna, which expects its COVID-19 vaccine to be approved shortly, it said.
Getting the vaccine doses to poor countries is a big challenge, as rich countries are determined to vaccinate their entire population as quickly as possible. COVAX is funded by donor countries, multilateral lenders like the World Bank, and private charities like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday’s announcement of additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for COVAX was “fantastic news and a milestone in global health.”
GAVI CEO Seth Berkley said the goal of providing a global and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines was “alive and well.” But he added: “We still need more doses, and yes, we still need more money.”
COVAX was launched by GAVI and WHO in April to ensure access of COVID-19 injections to poor and middle-income countries.
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