COVID-19 vaccine
Global Covid cases top 250 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 250 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 250,314,842 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,055,334, Tuesday morning.
The US has recorded 46,613,052 cases to date and more than 755,631 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 21,886,077 cases as of Tuesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 609,573.
Read: Bangladesh ‘braces for Covid’s winter wave’; experts urge caution
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,366,987 on Monday as 11,451 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Besides, as many as 266 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Sunday morning, taking the total toll to 461,057.
In Europe, Germany’s coronavirus infection rate climbed to its highest recorded level yet on Monday, as what officials have called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” gathers pace, reports AP.
The disease control center of Germany said on Monday that 15,513 new Covid-19 cases were reported over the past 24 hours — down from a record 37,120 on Friday, but figures are typically lower after the weekend. Another 33 deaths were recorded, bringing Germany’s total to 96,558.
Germany has struggled to find ways to pep up its much-slowed vaccination campaign. At least 67% of the population of 83 million is fully vaccinated, according to official figures, which authorities say isn’t enough. Unlike some other European countries, it has balked at making vaccinations mandatory for any professional group.
According to AP, Russia’s coronavirus task force reported 39,400 new infections and 1,190 deaths on Monday — slightly lower than the record 41,335 new cases Saturday and the record 1,195 deaths reported on Thursday. Russia has the worst death toll in Europe by far, and is one of the top five hardest-hit nations in the world.
The task force has been reporting around 40,000 new cases and over 1,100 new deaths each day since late October.
Meanwhile, Russians went back to work on Monday after a mandated, nine-day break, with authorities expressing uncertainly whether the measure helped tame a record-breaking surge of coronavirus infections and deaths.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged six more Covid-linked deaths and 215 fresh cases of the infection in 24 hours till Monday morning.
The new casualties marked a slight increase from Sunday’s four deaths and 178 cases.
Meanwhile, the daily case positivity rate also rose to 1.28 percent from Sunday’s 1.17 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,901 while the country’s caseload mounted to 1,571,228.
Read: Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%
On the 44th epidemiological week of the pandemic from November 1 to 7, Bangladesh saw 74.1 percent comorbidity in the 27 Covid-linked deaths.
The comorbidity rate has increased 23 percent from the previous week, the directorate said.
Comorbidity means the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
Of the 27 deceased, 23 didn’t receive any vaccine against Covid-19 while three were fully vaccinated and another received the first dose.
However, on Monday the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 percent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 16,812 samples, said the DGHS.
Also, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.70 percent, with the recovery of 209 more patients during the period.
Indonesia first to greenlight Novavax COVID-19 vaccine
Biotechnology company Novavax said Monday that Indonesia has given the world's first emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, which uses a different technology than current shots.
The vaccine is easier to store and transport than some other shots, which could allow it to play an important role in boosting supplies in poorer countries around the world.
The two-dose Novavax vaccine is made with lab-grown copies of the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. That’s very different from widely used mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna that deliver genetic instructions for the body to make its own spike protein.
Read: Indonesia prison fire kills 41 drug inmates, 80 hospitalized
The emergency authorization of the vaccine is a “very important step” for Indonesia's COVID-19 vaccination program, Indonesian epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said.
“This vaccine will be much easier to transport, store and distribute in a place like Indonesia, where we have many islands,” he said.
Budiman said if the rollout of the vaccine is successful, it could lead to its approval and use in other developing nations.
The need for more vaccines remains critical in many countries, including Indonesia.
In June, U.S.-based Novavax announced the vaccine had proven about 90% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in a study of nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and Mexico. It also worked against variants circulating in those countries at the time, it said.
The company said side effects were mild and included tenderness at the injection site, headache, aches and pains and fatigue.
In October, it addressed concerns that production of the vaccine had been slowed due to a lack of raw materials and other issues, saying it planned to “achieve a capacity of 150 million doses per month by the end of the fourth quarter” through partnerships with Serum Institute of India, SK Bioscience in South Korea and Takeda in Japan, among others.
Novavax said it has already filed for authorization of the vaccine in the United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia, India and the Philippines.
Read: Rapid virus spread through Indonesia taxes health workers
Indonesia was battered by a deadly wave of COVID-19 fueled by the delta variant and post-holiday travel from June through August. New cases have now dropped, averaging less than 1,000 a day since mid October.
About 36% of people in Indonesian have received two doses of a vaccine, and about 58% have received one dose, according to the Ministry of Health.
Over 143,400 people have died from the virus in Indonesia. The number is thought to be an undercount due to low testing and tracing.
FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
The FDA cleared kid-size doses — just a third of the amount given to teens and adults — for emergency use, and up to 28 million more American children could be eligible for vaccinations as early as next week.
One more regulatory hurdle remains: On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make more detailed recommendations on which youngsters should get vaccinated, with a final decision by the agency’s director expected shortly afterwards.
“The rationale here is protect your children so that they can get back towards normal life,” said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks. “The tremendous cost of this pandemic has not just been in physical illness, it’s been in the psychological, the social development of children” too.
Also read: Merck agrees to let other drug makers make its COVID pill
A few countries have begun using other COVID-19 vaccines in children under 12, including China, which just began vaccinations for 3-year-olds. But many that use the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are watching the U.S. decision, and European regulators just began considering the companies' kid-size doses.
With FDA's action, Pfizer plans to begin shipping millions of vials of the pediatric vaccine — in orange caps to avoid mix-ups with the purple-capped doses for everyone else — to doctors' offices, pharmacies and other vaccination sites. Once the CDC issues its ruling, eligible kids will get two shots, three weeks apart.
While children are at lower risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 than older people, 5- to 11-year-olds still have been seriously affected -- including over 8,300 hospitalizations, about a third requiring intensive care. The FDA said 146 deaths have been reported in that age group.
And with the extra-contagious delta variant circulating, the government has counted more than 2,000 coronavirus-related school closings just since the start of the school year, affecting more than a million children.
“With this vaccine kids can go back to something that’s better than being locked at home on remote schooling, not being able to see their friends,” said Dr. Kawsar Talaat of Johns Hopkins University. “The vaccine will protect them and also protect our communities.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics also applauded FDA’s decision, and said pediatricians were “standing by” to talk with parents.
Also read: US financing body, Biological E finalise agreement to expand COVID manufacturing capabilities in India
Vaccinating this age group is “an important step in keeping them healthy and providing their families with peace of mind,’’ said Dr. Lee Savio Beers, the academy’s president.
Earlier this week, FDA's independent scientific advisers voted that the pediatric vaccine's promised benefits outweigh any risks. But several panelists said not all youngsters will need to be vaccinated, and that they preferred the shots be targeted to those at higher risk from the virus.
Nearly 70% of 5- to 11-year-olds hospitalized for COVID-19 in the U.S. have other serious medical conditions, including asthma and obesity, according to federal tracking. Additionally, more than two-thirds of youngsters hospitalized are Black or Hispanic, mirroring long-standing disparities in the disease's impact.
The question of how broadly Pfizer's vaccine should be used will be a key consideration for the CDC and its advisers, who set formal recommendations for pediatricians and other medical professionals.
A Pfizer study of 2,268 schoolchildren found the vaccine was nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections, based on 16 cases of COVID-19 among kids given dummy shots compared to just three who got vaccinated.
The FDA ultimately assessed more children — 3,100 — who received the kid dosage to conclude it was safe. Youngsters experienced similar or fewer temporary reactions — such as sore arms, fever or achiness — that teens experience.
But the study wasn’t large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second full-strength dose, mostly in young men and teen boys. It's unclear if younger children getting a smaller dose also will face that rare risk. FDA pledged Friday to keep a close watch.
Some parents are expected to vaccinate their children ahead of family holiday gatherings and the winter cold season.
Laura Cushman of Salt Lake City plans to get her three children — ages 7, 9 and 11 — vaccinated as soon as possible.
“We just want them to get to resume their pre-COVID life a little bit more. And feel safe about it,” she said.
But a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey suggests most parents won't rush to get the shots. About 25% of parents polled earlier this month said they would get their children vaccinated “right away.” But the remaining majority of parents were roughly split between those who said they will wait to see how the vaccine performs and those who said they “definitely” won't have their children vaccinated.
The similarly made Moderna vaccine also is being studied in young children, and both Pfizer and Moderna also are testing shots for babies and preschoolers.
DU to collaborate with AFC Biotech to develop Covid-19 vaccine
The Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS) of Dhaka University (DU) will collaborate with AFC-Agro-Biotech Ltd in research, development and production of Covid-19 vaccine (DUBD-vac).
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the institutions was signed on Monday in presence of DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Akhtaruzzaman, a press release said.
Read: Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective in kids
DU Treasurer Professor Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed and AFC-Agro-Biotech's Executive Chairman Major General (Retired) Md Sarwar Hossain inked the MoU.
"The nation will be benefited by this inclusive research," hoped Dr Akhtaruzzaman.
According to the deal, CARS and AFC-Agro-Biotech will jointly work for innovation of various vaccines including development and production of Covid-19 vaccine (DUBD-vac).
Besides, these two institutions will jointly conduct advanced level research on biological sciences including genetic engineering and biotechnology as well as producing various medicines.
JND biotech and Emergent biotech, two renowned biotech companies in USA will provide support and cooperation in this regard.
Read: FDA OKs mixing COVID vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J boosters
Earlier in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, another local pharmaceutical company - Globe Biotech Ltd - secured the approval of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) to produce Covid-19 vaccine candidate "Bangavax".
It started the trial of its vaccine on the 56 monkeys they had collected from Safari Park in Gazipur.
China to start vaccinating children to age 3 as cases spread
Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks.
Local city and provincial level governments in at least five provinces issued notices in recent days announcing that children ages 3-11 will be required to get their vaccinations.
The expansion of the vaccination campaign comes as parts of China take new clampdown measures to try to stamp out small outbreaks. Gansu, a northwestern province heavily dependent on tourism, closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new COVID-19 cases. Residents in parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay indoors due to an outbreak there.
Also read: Vaccines, masks? Japan puzzling over sudden virus success
The National Health Commission reported 35 new cases of local transmission had been detected over the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu. Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, with others scattered around the country.
China has employed lockdowns, quarantines and compulsory testing for the virus throughout the pandemic and has largely stamped out cases of local infection while fully vaccinating 1.07 billion people in its population of 1.4 billion.
In particular, the government is concerned about the spread of the more contagious delta variant by travelers and about having a largely vaccinated public ahead of the Beijing Olympics in February. Overseas spectators already have been banned from the Games, and participants will have to stay in a bubble separating them from people outside.
China's most widely used vaccines, from Sinopharm and Sinovac, have shown efficacy in preventing severe disease and transmission of the virus, based on public data. But the protection they offer against the delta variant has not been answered definitively, although officials say they remain protective.
Hubei, Fujian and Hainan provinces all issued provincial level notices alerting new vaccination requirements, while individual cities in Zhejiang province and Hunan province have also issued similar announcements.
Also read: COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers
China in June had approved two vaccines — Sinopharm's from the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and Sinovac — for children age 3-17, but it has only been vaccinating those 12 and older. In August, regulators approved another, Sinopharm's from the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.
After the vaccines received domestic approval for children in China, foreign governments began giving the shots to children in their own countries. Cambodia uses both Sinovac and Sinopharm’s shots in children 6-11. Regulators in Chile approved Sinovac for children as young as 6. In Argentina, regulators approved the Sinopharm vaccine for children as young as age 3.
Many developing countries left out of the race to get shots from Western pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Moderna bought Chinese vaccines. China has shipped more than 1.2 billion doses as of September, according to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Even with widespread domestic and global use, not every parent is reassured about the vaccine, citing less publicly available data on the shots.
Wang Lu, who lives in the southern city of Fuzhou in Fujian province, said she isn’t particularly rushing to get her 3-year-old son vaccinated. “I’m just not very clear on the vaccine’s safety profile, so I don’t really want to get him vaccinated, at the very least, I don’t want to be the first,” Wang said.
Sinovac started an efficacy trial with 14,000 child participants across multiple countries in September. Its approval in China was based on smaller phase 1 and phase 2 trials. Sinopharm’s Beijing shot was also approved based on smaller phase 1 and phase 2 trials. These were published later in peer-reviewed journals.
Other parents said they weren’t concerned, given that many other people had already gotten the shot.
Wu Cong, a mom of a 7-year old, said her daughter’s school in Shanghai hadn’t yet notified them of any vaccinations.
“I think this isn’t too different from the flu vaccine, there’s already been so many people vaccinated, so I don’t have too many worries,” said Wu.
Hasina greets Modi as India administers 1 bn Covid jabs
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday congratulated her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on achieving the historic milestone of administering ‘One Billion’ Covid-19 vaccine doses on October 21, 2021 by his government.
In a message to Modi, Hasina called this as a remarkable success achieved in dealing with the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has inflicted on humankind.
Read:Vested quarters out there to tarnish Bangladesh’s image: Hasina
Hasina said that it will be a major step towards the path of recovery and normalcy for India and the region.
She also informed Modi that her government has also been carrying out a mass vaccination programme in Bangladesh as over 60 million people have been vaccinated using jabs collected from multiple sources.
She reiterated India has been an important source of Covid-19 vaccines for Bangladesh from the very beginning of the vaccination programme and conveyed thanks to the government of India for resuming the export of AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines hoping that this would continue uninterrupted in the days to come.
Read: India hits 1 billion Covid vaccination milestone
She expressed her firm belief to continue working together more closely with India to save the people of this region from the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic and counter the multifarious adverse fallouts of this pandemic.
Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective in kids
Kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine appear safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in 5- to 11-year-olds, according to study details released Friday as the U.S. considers opening vaccinations to that age group.
The shots could begin in early November, with the first children in line fully protected by Christmas, if regulators give the go-ahead. That would represent a major expansion of the nation’s vaccine drive, encompassing roughly 28 million elementary school-age youngsters.
Details of Pfizer’s study were posted online. The Food and Drug Administration was expected to post its own review of the company’s safety and effectiveness data later in the day.
Advisers to the FDA will publicly debate the evidence next week. If the agency itself authorizes the shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final decision on who should receive them.
Full-strength Pfizer shots already are authorized for anyone 12 or older, but pediatricians and many parents are anxiously awaiting protection for younger children to stem rising infections and record hospitalizations among them from the extra-contagious delta variant and to help keep kids in school.
The Biden administration has purchased enough kid-size doses — in special orange-capped vials to distinguish them from adult vaccine — for the nation’s 5- to 11-year-olds. If the vaccine is cleared, millions of doses will be promptly shipped around the country, along with kid-size needles.
Read: Pfizer's request to OK shots for kids a relief for parents
More than 25,000 pediatricians and primary care providers already have signed up to get the shots into little arms.
The Pfizer study tracked 2,268 children in the 5-to-11 group who got two shots three weeks apart of either a placebo or the low-dose vaccine. Each dose was one-third the amount given to teens and adults.
Researchers calculated the low-dose vaccine was nearly 91% effective, based on 16 COVID-19 cases in youngsters given dummy shots versus three cases among vaccinated children. There were no severe illnesses reported among any of the youngsters, but the vaccinated ones had much milder symptoms than their unvaccinated counterparts.
Most of the study data was collected in the U.S. during August and September, when the delta variant had become the dominant COVID-19 strain.
In addition, young children given the low-dose shots developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teens and young adults who got regular-strength vaccinations.
In another piece of encouraging news, the CDC reported earlier this week that even as the delta variant surged over the summer, Pfizer vaccinations were 93% effective at preventing hospitalizations among 12- to 18-year-olds.
Read: World could return to normal within a year: Pfizer CEO
Pfizer’s study of younger children found the low-dose shots proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects such as sore arms, fever or achiness that teens experience.
The study isn’t large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second dose, mostly in young men.
While children run a lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, COVID-19 has killed more than 630 Americans 18 and under, according to the CDC. Nearly 6.2 million children have been infected with the coronavirus, more than 1.1 million in the last six weeks as the delta variant surged, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.
Moderna also is studying its COVID-19 shots in elementary school-age youngsters. Pfizer and Moderna are studying even younger children as well, down to 6-month-olds. Results are expected later in the year.
US marks 200M COVID-19 shots shared with world
The U.S. on Thursday donated its 200 millionth COVID-19 shot to help vaccinate the rest of the world, the White House announced. The Biden administration aims to lead a global vaccination campaign even as it rolls out boosters for domestic use, which critics say diverts doses from those who are in greater need around the world.
The donated doses include more than 120 million in surplus from the U.S. stockpile of shots, as well as the initial deliveries of the 1 billion doses the Biden administration has purchased from Pfizer for overseas donation by September 2022. More than 100 countries and territories have received the American doses, and the U.S. remains the largest vaccine donor in the world.
Read:India hits 1 billion Covid vaccination milestone
“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”
While aid groups have praised the U.S. for leading the world in vaccine donations, they have criticized the U.S. for approving booster doses for use in the country while many people in lower-income nations have no protection at all. The Food and Drug Administration approved booster doses of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines Wednesday, following last month's authorization of a third dose of the Pfizer shot.
Read: White House details plans to vaccinate 28M children age 5-11
“The reality is, the more wealthy countries use booster shots, the further we will be from ending the pandemic," said Tom Hart, acting CEO of the One Campaign. “While some argue that we can both administer boosters and vaccinate the world, the simple fact is that boosters divert supply from an urgent area of need — administering first shots around the world.”
While half the planet has been vaccinated, there are massive geographic and wealth disparities. The majority of global shots have been administered in high- and moderate-income countries.
India plans to raise Covid jab production: High Commission
India is looking at an increased monthly production of Covid-19 jabs, a larger basket of vaccine options and a larger proportion of its population fully vaccinated by the end of 2021.
This would translate to a larger potential to share vaccines with the world, contributing toward realisation of the Prime Minister’s vision of 'One Earth, One Health', the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said in a press release.
India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has achieved a historic milestone of administering 1 billion vaccine doses. Around 75% of the eligible population (18+) has been given the first dose, while around 30% has been given both the doses.
Read:Indian high commissioner interacts with Buddhist community
India has achieved this mark of 1 billion vaccine doses in less than 40 weeks, said the High Commission.
This milestone exemplifies India’s prowess in various elements in the vaccination journey -- development of new vaccines, production of vaccines, deployment, and technology, it said.
India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive was launched on 16 January, 2021.
But preparations had begun way back in April 2020 with the establishment of the National Task Force for Focused Research on Corona Vaccine, the release said.
Today, India is the only country that has developed multiple vaccines across multiple platforms (Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin uses an inactivated virus platform, Zycov-D is a DNA vaccine, Covishield a viral vector vaccine, Gennova is in the running for being India’s first mRNA vaccine), according to the High Commission.
On the approval of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), three vaccines have been utilised in the programme -- Covishield produced by the Serum Institute of India in collaboration with AstraZeneca of the United Kingdom, Covaxin of Bharat Biotech International Limited and Sputnik V of Russia.
Read:Bangladesh receives 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccine
Nearly all of the 1 billion doses administered have been 'Made-in-India', except for a miniscule proportion of Sputnik V (approximately 0.4 million doses).
Moreover, the High Commission said, more than 95% of those vaccine doses have been delivered by India’s public health system, a testimony to its reach and robustness.
Nevertheless, it said, private healthcare outlets have also been included in the implementation of the vaccination drive.
Covid: WHO warns pandemic will drag on into 2022
The Covid pandemic will "go on for a year longer than it needs to" because poorer countries are not getting the vaccines they need, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Dr Bruce Aylward, senior leader at the WHO, said it meant the Covid crisis could "easily drag on deep into 2022", reports BBC.
Less than 5% of Africa's population have been vaccinated, compared to 40% on most other continents.
The UK has delivered more than 10 million vaccines to countries in need.
Read:Mosquirix: WHO Recommends World's First Malaria Vaccine RTS,S
It has pledged a total of 100 million.
Dr Aylward appealed to wealthy countries to give up their places in the queue for vaccines in order that pharmaceutical companies can prioritise the lowest-income countries instead.
He said wealthy countries needed to "stocktake" where they were with their donation commitments made at summits such as the G7 meeting in St Ives this summer.
"I can tell you we're not on track" he said. "We really need to speed it up or you know what? This pandemic is going to go on for a year longer than it needs to."
The People's Vaccine - an alliance of charities - has released new figures suggesting just one in seven of the doses promised by pharmaceutical companies and wealthy countries are actually reaching their destinations in poorer countries.
The vast majority of Covid vaccines have been given in high-income or upper middle-income countries. Africa accounts for just 2.6% of doses administered globally.
Read:World misses most 2020 mental health targets: WHO
The group of charities, which includes Oxfam and UNAids, also criticised Canada and the UK for procuring vaccines for their own populations via Covax, the UN-backed global programme to distribute vaccines fairly.
Official figures show that earlier this year the UK received 539,370 Pfizer doses while Canada took just under a million AstraZeneca doses.
The original idea behind Covax was that all countries would be able to acquire vaccines from its pool, including wealthy ones. But most G7 countries decided to hold back once they started making their own one-to-one deals with pharmaceutical companies.
Oxfam's Global Health Adviser, Rohit Malpani, acknowledged that Canada and the UK were technically entitled to get vaccines via this route having paid into the Covax mechanism, but he said it was still "morally indefensible" given that they had both obtained millions of doses through their own bilateral agreements.
Read: WHO okays vaccination of those below 18 in Bangladesh: Health Minister
"They should not have been acquiring these doses from Covax," he said. "It's nothing better than double-dipping and means that poorer countries which are already at the back of the queue, will end up waiting longer."
The UK government pointed out it was one of the countries which had "kick-started" Covax last year with a donation of £548m.
The Canadian government was keen to stress that it had now ceased to use Covax vaccines.
The country's International Development Minister, Karina Gould, said: "As soon as it became clear that the supply we had secured through our bilateral deals would be sufficient for the Canadian population, we pivoted the doses which we had procured from Covax back to Covax, so they could be redistributed to developing countries."
Covax originally aimed to deliver two billion doses of vaccines by the end of this year, but so far it has shipped 371m doses.