COVAX
UNICEF ED calls for donating excess doses of vaccine
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore has laid emphasis on sharing immediately available excess doses of vaccine and ultimately the global vaccination race will be won when Member States make sustainable plans to fully fund and supply the COVAX Advance Market Commitment.
"Sharing immediately available excess doses is a minimum, essential and emergency stop-gap measure, and it is needed right now," Fore said in a statement on Monday as G7 countries gear up for June summit.
She also talked about supporting the expansion of vaccine manufacturing capacity, including through proactive Intellectual Property licensing and technological transfer.
Fore said COVAX Facility – the global COVID vaccine equity scheme – will deliver its 65 millionth dose in the coming days but it should have been at least its 170 millionth.
Read: Shortage of vaccines a 'temporary' problem, follow health guidelines: President
"By the time G7 leaders gather in the UK next month, and as a deadly second wave of COVID-19 will likely continue to sweep across India and many of its South Asian neighbours, the shortfall will near 190 million doses," she said.
"We are concerned that the deadly spike in India is a precursor to what will happen if those warnings remain unheeded. While the situation in India is tragic, it is not unique. Cases are exploding and health systems are struggling in countries near – like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives – and far, like Argentina and Brazil," Fore said.
The cost for children and families will be incalculable.
“The longer the virus continues to spread unchecked, the higher the risk of more deadly or contagious variants emerging," Fore said.
The clearest pathway out of this pandemic is a global, equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
"COVAX, led by the WHO, Gavi and CEPI, with UNICEF as implementing partner, represents such a pathway. But COVAX is undersupplied," Fore said.
Among the global consequences of the situation in India, a global hub for vaccine production, is a severe reduction in vaccines available to COVAX, said the UNICEF ED.
Read: India to begin Covaxin vaccine trials for children
"Soaring domestic demand has meant that 140 million doses intended for distribution to low- and middle-income countries through the end of May cannot be accessed by COVAX. Another 50 million doses are likely to be missed in June," she said.
This, added to vaccine nationalism, limited production capacity and lack of funding, is why the roll-out of COVID vaccines is so behind schedule.
“G7 leaders will be meeting next month with a potential emergency stop-gap measure readily available," Fore said.
New data analysis provided by Airfinity, the life sciences research facility, and commissioned by the UK National Committee for UNICEF, indicates that G7 nations and ‘Team Europe’ group of European Union Member States could donate around 153 million vaccine doses if they shared just 20 per cent of their available supply over June, July and August, she said.
Critically, they could do so while still meeting their commitments to vaccinate their own populations.
“While some G7 members have greater supply than others, and some have further advanced domestic rollouts, an immediate collective commitment to pool excess supply and share the burden of responsibility could buttress vulnerable countries against becoming the next global hotspot," Fore said.
Shortfall numbers are based on delays related to shipments from the Serum Institute of India (SII) only.
Read: Bangladesh thanks China; seeks larger amount of vaccine doses
Other delays related to the original COVAX delivery schedule are expected to be made up by the end of June. There is currently no timetable to resolve SII-related delays.
The Airfinity analysis is produced using data forecasts of vaccine supplies allocated to G7 members based on doses set to be readily available.
The supply forecasts are based on existing deals between countries and manufacturers of approved vaccine candidates unless specified as included vaccine candidates currently undergoing Phase III trials.
The aggregate figure of 153 million doses represents the total of available doses if all G7 members donate 20 per cent of their available supply in June, July and August 2021, minus Novovax (due to anticipated supply limitations affecting Novovax).
Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death
The Indonesian government said Sunday (May 16, 2021) it has suspended the distribution and use of a batch of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after his inoculation with the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health called the suspension "a prudent effort by the government to ensure the safety of the vaccine," and said it plans to continue to use other batches of the vaccine it has received.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
The results of sterility and toxicity tests by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency are expected to come out within one to two weeks.
The batch in question, consisting of about 450,000 doses, arrived last month. It is part of the 3,852,000 AstraZeneca doses that Indonesia has received through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility.
Also read: Governments give varying advice on AstraZeneca vaccine
COVAX is an international vaccine distribution platform set up to ensure equitable access to shots for developing countries.
Local media reported that the man received a jab from the batch in the capital Jakarta on May 5 and died the next day. The batch had been distributed to Jakarta and North Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia, as well as to the military, according to the ministry.
Also read: EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot
Indonesia has fully inoculated almost 9 million of its 187 million eligible citizens under a nationwide vaccination drive that started in mid-January.
Panel suggests WHO should have more power to stop pandemics
A panel of independent experts who reviewed the World Health Organization’s response to the coronavirus pandemic says the U.N. health agency should be granted “guaranteed rights of access” in countries to investigate emerging outbreaks, a contentious idea that would give it more powers and require member states to give up some of theirs.
In a report released Wednesday, the panel faulted countries worldwide for their sluggish response to COVID-19, saying most waited to see how the virus was spreading until it was too late to contain it, leading to catastrophic results. The group also slammed the lack of global leadership and restrictive international health laws that “hindered” WHO’s response to the pandemic.
Some experts criticized the panel for failing to hold WHO and others accountable for their actions during COVID-19, describing that as “an abdication of responsibility.”
Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University said the panel “fails to call out bad actors like China, perpetuating the dysfunctional WHO tradition of diplomacy over frankness, transparency and accountability.”
The panel was led by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who were tapped by WHO last year to examine the U.N. agency’s response to COVID-19 after bowing to a request from member countries.
“The situation we find ourselves in today could have been prevented,” Johnson Sirleaf said.
Beyond the call to boost WHO’s ability to investigate outbreaks, the panel made an array of recommendations, such as urging the health agency and the World Trade Organization to convene a meeting of vaccine-producing countries and manufacturers to quickly reach deals about voluntary licensing and technology transfer, in an effort to boost the world’s global supply of coronavirus shots.
The panel also suggested that WHO’s director-general — currently Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia — should be limited to a single seven-year term. As it stands, the WHO chief is elected to a five-year term that can be renewed once.
The suggestion to limit the tenure of WHO’s top leader appeared in part designed to ease the intense political pressure that WHO director-generals can face. Last year, the Trump administration repeatedly inveighed against the agency’s handling of the pandemic — taking aim at WHO’s alleged collusion with China.
An Associated Press investigation in June found WHO repeatedly lauded China in public while officials privately complained that Chinese officials stalled on sharing critical epidemic information with them, including the new virus’ genetic sequence.
Clark said the global diseases surveillance system needed to be overhauled — with WHO’s role strengthened.
“WHO should have the powers necessary to investigate outbreaks of concern, speedily guaranteed rights of access, and with the ability to publish information without waiting for member state approval,” she said.
Sophie Harman, a professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, said the panel’s recommendations were unlikely to be entirely welcomed by WHO’s member countries, and thus, unlikely to be implemented.
“Which states would actually allow WHO in to investigate an outbreak without their permission?” she asked.
Many doctors fatigued after treating COVID-19 patients said any reform of WHO should include an evaluation of its ability to properly assess the science of an emerging health threat.
David Tomlinson, a British physician who has been campaigning for health workers during the pandemic in the U.K., said WHO “failed on the most fundamental aspect” in its scientific leadership of COVID-19. He said WHO’s failure to acknowledge that much coronavirus transmission happens in the air has “amplified the pandemic.”
WHO has said coronavirus spread can happen in limited circumstances in the air but recommended against mask-wearing for the general public until last June.
Clare Wenham, a professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics, said the report overall was good, but questioned its support for the U.N.-backed program for coronavirus vaccines called COVAX, which relies on a “donation” model. Of the millions of COVID-19 vaccines administered to date, developing countries have received just 7%, WHO said this week.
“(COVAX) is not addressing one of the main problems, which is we need to rapidly ramp up production of the vaccines and distribution of vaccines,” she said. “And it’s still working on the model of a finite number that’s only able be produced by a certain few manufacturing locations.”
Overall, she suggested politicians needed to budge more than technical institutions like WHO.
“The problems aren’t technical. The problems are political. The problems are about like: How do you get governments to behave and think about things beyond their own borders?” Wenham said. “I don’t think that has been resolved.”
US support behind vaccine patent waiver ‘monumental moment’ in Covid fight: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has hailed the US administration's decision to support temporary vaccine patent waiver as a "monumental moment" in the global fight against Covid-19.
"This is a monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19. The commitment by the President of the United States Joe Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of American leadership to address global health challenges,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
Also Read:WHO, Germany to launch new global hub for pandemic, epidemic intelligence
“I commend the US on its historic decision for vaccine equity and prioritizing the well-being of all people everywhere at a critical time. Now let's all move together swiftly, in solidarity, building on the ingenuity and commitment of scientists who produced life-saving Covid-19 vaccines."
On Wednesday, Ambassador Kai issued a statement saying the extraordinary circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to respond and that the waiving of intellectual property protections on vaccines was needed to help end the pandemic.
The US would, the statement continued, participate in World Trade Organization negotiations to support the temporary waiving of protections, and work with the private sector and other partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
Dr Tedros said the White House’s support for the temporary waiving of intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines reflects the wisdom and moral leadership of the US to work towards ending the pandemic.
Also Read:Bangladeshi doctor made WHO Representative to Maldives
"But I am not surprised by this announcement. This is what I expected from the administration of President Biden.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic WHO has been working with partners to scale up the development and distribution of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments through the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, a pillar of which is the COVAX Facility for equitable sharing of vaccines to at-risk people worldwide.
Vaccine willingness ranged from 96% in Myanmar to 83% in Bangladesh: Survey
Dhaka, May 3 (UNB) - People's willingness to take a vaccine for the coronavirus varied across the world in 2020, with the percentages saying they would take a vaccine ranging from a high of 96% in Myanmar to a low of 25% in Kazakhstan while it is 83% in Bangladesh, says a global survey.
In the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of adults worldwide (68%) told Gallup that they would agree to be vaccinated if a coronavirus vaccine were available to them at no cost.
However, like the global number, in most countries, the percentages fell short of the estimated 70% to 90% that some experts say would need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity in a population, said Gallup in a report on Monday.
But importantly, if everyone who said they were willing to take the coronavirus actually did, just 38 of the 116 countries and areas that Gallup surveyed throughout the latter half of 2020 would reach the minimum 70% estimated threshold for achieving herd immunity.
Only one country, Myanmar, would exceed the high-end estimate of 90%.
Percentages worldwide who say they would take a vaccine for the coronavirus if it were made available to them at no cost.
Also read: Local pharma seeks permission to bring Moderna vaccine: DGHS DG
In 15 countries, including India, which is currently dealing with a second catastrophic wave of the virus and where less than 10% of the population has received one dose, the percentage willing to take a coronavirus vaccine was between 80% and 89%.
And in 22 others, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil -- which is also dealing with a massive COVID-19 surge -- 70% to 79% were inclined to be vaccinated.
Vaccines are given to people to help prevent specific diseases.
Willingness Lowest in Eastern Europe, Former Soviet States -- Including Russia
Gallup's research on behalf of the Wellcome Global Monitor in 2018 showed people in Eastern Europe and former Soviet states were among the least likely in the world to believe vaccines in general are safe and effective -- before the pandemic.
People in these two regions were also the least likely in 2020 to be willing to take the coronavirus vaccine -- 43% on average said they would in Commonwealth of Independent States countries, and 46% would in non-EU-member countries in Europe.
Many countries in these two regions -- including most of the Balkans -- and former Soviet states also dominate the list of places where people were the least willing to take a coronavirus vaccine if it were available at no cost.
For example, less than half of Russians in 2018 who had heard of vaccines (45%) agreed that they were safe, while a sizable 24% disagreed (one of the highest rates in the world).
Fast-forwarding to shortly before their government rolled out its own coronavirus vaccine, called Sputnik V, domestically in December, 37% of Russians said they would take a coronavirus vaccine if offered, while 61% said they would not.
Also read: Vaccines to be procured at any expense, says PM Hasina
Nearly three in 10 (29%) worldwide said they would not agree to be vaccinated, and another 3% said they did not know or refused to answer; together, these translate into roughly 1.3 billion adults who were unwilling to be vaccinated at the time of the survey.
Efforts to vaccinate people will clearly face much stronger headwinds in some countries than others.
Majorities of adults in nearly two dozen countries and areas worldwide firmly said they would not agree to be vaccinated.
Further, people in many of these countries have yet to see more than 2% of their population vaccinated.
Unsurprisingly, the list includes Russia and countries in Eastern Europe where few people said they would take vaccines, but it is led by sub-Saharan African countries Gabon and Cameroon, where two-thirds of the populations would not take vaccines if offered. Majorities in Senegal, Togo and Namibia also said they would not take the vaccine.
Looking Ahead
Because the surveys were conducted throughout 2020, countries were at various stages of the pandemic, but in most countries, vaccines had yet to be rolled out to the public.
It is reasonable to expect that attitudes may have shifted since, as vaccines have become available to more people.
For example, opinions toward vaccines in the U.S. have changed over the past year.
Barely a majority of Americans (53%) at the time of the 2020 World Poll in September and October said they would agree to be vaccinated, which was in line with Gallup's other domestic polling at the same time.
However, by March 2021 -- a few months into vaccine rollouts -- 74% of Americans said they would take one of the FDA emergency-approved vaccines for the coronavirus if it were available at no cost, and 26% said they would not.
Even if people's attitudes elsewhere have shifted as they have in the U.S., these data still provide some sense of the resistance that countries are likely facing with the public during their vaccine rollouts.
Also read: Vaccination Demand Observatory launched to address vaccine misinformation
This is on top of the logistical challenges involved in mass vaccination efforts.
As that process continues across the U.S. and the rest of the world, the challenge will eventually shift from meeting the needs of those willing to be vaccinated to building support among the somewhat sizable populations that likely remain hesitant.
Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine
The government of Bangladesh on Tuesday (April 27, 2021) approved the emergency use of Russian Sputnik V Vaccine.
The approval was given at a meeting of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA).
Also read: FM to join China-led virtual meeting on vaccine cooperation
After the meeting, Director General of DGDA Mahbubur Rahman said, “Now there’s no legal bar to the import or use of this vaccine. If Bangladesh wants to purchase it, Russia will provide it next month,” he said.
“If everything goes well, this vaccine is expected to be available by May. In the first phase, 40 lakh doses will arrive,” he added.
Read US will share AstraZeneca vaccines with world
The DG said the DGDA has a 12-member public health emergency committee which examined the efficacy of the vaccine.
The vaccine is around 91 percent effective against Covid and its emergency use has been approved considering all these things, he added.
Read Will take 2 weeks to get vaccine from alternative sources: FM
Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine gives around 92% protection against Covid-19, reported BBC on February 2 this year referring to late-stage trial results published in The Lancet reveal.
“The vaccine was approved by Russia and it’s now being used in seven countries of the world. We’ve got all the data about it and we’ve scrutinised it through technical experts,” Mahbub added.
Read Vaccine is not the only solution: Quader
Apparently considering its dwindling stock, the government suspended administering the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Apr 26.
Bangladesh to suspend administering Covid vaccine 1st dose from Monday
Apparently considering its dwindling stock, the government has decided to suspend administering the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine from Monday (Apr 26).
In a circular on Sunday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) asked the civil surgeons of all the districts, the chief health officers of all the city corporations, and the upaizla health and family planning officers of all the upazilas to take necessary steps in this regard.
The first dose of the covid vaccination has apparently been suspended amid uncertainty over the availability of vaccine doses from Serum Institute of India as per contract following rapid surge in the virus cases and deaths in neighbouring India.
Also read: Bangladesh to get 21 lakh Covid vaccine doses by early May: DGHS
Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd for 30 million doses of the vaccine.
Bangladesh has received 7 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
Although Foreign Minister AK Momen earlier assured people that there will be adequate doses of the vaccine but a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the vaccine doses uncertain.
Also read: Covid vaccine: Dhaka agrees on Beijing’s proposal to set up emergency storage facility
In the mid-April, the pandemic has suddenly turned India into a Covid vaccine importer from a mass exporter.
Earlier in the day, DG of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam said Bangladesh will get 21 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the first week of May.
“Most of these vaccine doses will be imported by Beximco Pharmaceuticals,” he told reporters following an online discussion meeting marking World Malaria Day.
Also read: How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
Among the doses, one lakh are of COVAX while Serum Institute of India will supply the rest, Khurshid Alam said.
Bangladesh to get 21 lakh Covid vaccine doses by early May: DGHS
Bangladesh will get 21 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the first week of May, said DG of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam on Sunday.
“Most of these vaccine doses will be imported by Beximco Pharmaceuticals,” he told reporters following an online discussion meeting marking World Malaria Day.
Among the doses, one lakh are of COVAX while Serum Institute of India will supply the rest, Khurshid Alam said.
Also read: How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
“We’ll continue administering the first doses of the vaccine alongside completing the second doses,” the DG said, adding, “We’ll also get vaccine/s from China as a gift. The Covid-19 National Technical Advisory Committee will take the decision on how those will be administered.”
He also told the journalists that three of the local pharmaceutical companies have the capacity to produce Covid-19 vaccines.
As the deadly variant of the virus is being spread rapidly across India, a proposal has been sent to the authorities concerned to stop all the communications with the neighbouring country, except the transportation of emergency goods, he said.
Read Around 6,000 Americans contracted Covid after being fully vaccinated, 74 died: CDC
China ramps up vaccination drive with free eggs, other goods
China’s success at controlling the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a population that has seemed almost reluctant to get vaccinated. So it is accelerating its inoculation campaign by offering incentives — free eggs, store coupons and discounts on groceries and merchandise — to those getting a shot.
After a slow start, China is now giving millions of shots a day. On March 26 alone, it administered 6.1 million shots. A top government doctor, Zhong Nanshan, has announced a June goal of vaccinating 560 million of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
The challenge lies partly in the sheer scale of the effort and the need to convince a population that currently feels safe from infections.
When patients first showed up at hospitals in Wuhan in late 2019 with fevers, coughs and breathing difficulties, the government locked down the city and others in Hubei province for more than two months starting in January 2020. Wuhan later became known as the epicenter of the outbreak.
Also read: Covid-19 vaccines: Ex-leaders, Nobel laureates urge Biden to waive intellectual property rules
Since then, China has controlled the virus through stringent border controls and quick lockdowns whenever new outbreaks crop up. People can dine out in restaurants and the risk of infection is low, so many don’t seem to be in a hurry to get the vaccine.
“I think everyone has a sense of security and comfort, and there’s no big rush to get vaccinated unless you are asked to do so,” said Helen Chen, a health care specialist at a market research firm in Shanghai.
But China also wants to open up as the world seeks to return to pre-pandemic normalcy and Beijing readies to welcome tens of thousands of visitors as host of the Winter Olympics in February 2022. While successful with swift lockdowns and a robust contact tracing system via smartphones, the government is also weighing those measures in balance with an eventual return to normalcy.
For now, in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, the government has relied mostly on sustained messaging and freebies to convince people to get vaccinated.
Shopping malls have offered points at stores or coupons. A temple in Beijing offered free entry to anyone showing proof of vaccination. Shanghai is using buses in its campaign to set up mobile vaccination points.
And then there are the free eggs.
“Good news. Starting from today, residents 60 years old and above who have gotten their first shot are eligible for five ‘jin’ (2.5 kilograms or 5 1/2 pounds) of eggs. First come, first serve,” said a poster by a city-run health center in Beijing.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Wang Feng was too young for the eggs from the clinic, but the 25-year-old chef said he got the vaccine anyway because he could not go to work without it.
“I thought if it worked, then might as well,” he added.
Some people have expressed doubts about how good the existing vaccines are, Chinese or not, given how quickly they were developed.
“I don’t think such an effective vaccine can be made so quickly,” said Amy Lu, who works in a university in Shanghai.
The five vaccines currently being used in China have an efficacy range of 50.7% to 79.3%, based on what the companies have said. That doesn’t mean they have no value — most experts say that anything above 50% is useful getting the pandemic under control, along with preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
“Even if everyone gets two doses, you may not be able to achieve herd immunity.” said Wang Chenguang, a former professor at Peking Union Medical College and an immunology expert. Herd immunity occurs when enough of the population has immunity, either from vaccinations or past infection, to stop the uncontrolled spread of an infectious disease.
China may need to vaccinate at least 1 billion people to achieve that, said Wang Huaqing, a top immunology official with China’s Center for Disease Control, in an interview with state media this week. As of early April, roughly 34 million people had received two shots and about 65 million got one dose.
Gao Fu, the head of the CDC, said last weekend that China is considering various strategies such as mixing different vaccines to try to increase effectiveness. Outside experts say China could eventually deploy other, more effective vaccines, such as the Pfizer or Moderna shots.
“The best thing to do is to actually allow the use of other better vaccines and make them to be available to the Chinese people, but that’s probably very challenging politically,” said Jin Dong-yan, an expert on vaccines at the University of Hong Kong’s medical school.
Chinese drugmaker Fosun Pharmaceutical Group has partnered with Germany’s BioNTech to sell the Pfizer vaccine in China. However, it has only been approved in Hong Kong and Macao, special territories in China with their own regulatory agencies. A clinical trial for mainland approval is underway.
Vaccination is supposed to be voluntary, but overzealous efforts by some local governments and companies prompted health officials to issue a warning this week against forced vaccinations.
Also read: South Asian Govts must ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines: AI
A hospital in Danzhou on the southern island province of Hainan issued an apology after it issued a notice to staff saying, “Those who are not vaccinated could be fired.”
In Zhejiang province, an April 2 announcement said all government departments, Communist Party cadres and people working in universities would be required to take the lead in getting shots.
The national government also required vaccination for all residents in Ruili, a border town with Myanmar, because of a recent outbreak.
Getting vaccinated can also mean being able to avoid some of the more onerous obstacles that some local institutions have set up in the name of pandemic control.
Beijing student Bright Li said he got vaccinated so he would no longer need approval to leave campus. Although barely enforced, Li became concerned after the university put up posters publicly denouncing a student who left campus without permission last winter after that student had gone to an area with a confirmed COVID-19 case.
The vaccine drive has run into scattered shortages and delays.
In Haikou, the capital of Hainan, health authorities issued a temporary stay on providing a second shot to those not involved with two major upcoming events, “owing to relative tightness” in the vaccine supply. Shortages were also reported in two southern cities, Foshan in Guangdong Province and the port of Xiamen in Fujian province.
China’s vaccine makers have expanded production capacity massively, and health officials say they are confident demand can be met by the end of the year.
Efforts underway to accelerate vaccine delivery to poorer nations
A two-month investment opportunity has been launched to accelerate the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to 92 low- and middle-income economies through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
The United States government has already contributed an initial $2 billion to Gavi in support of COVAX -- the largest single country contribution -- and will contribute an additional $2 billion through 2022, according to the US Department of State.
The US and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, on Thursday applauded new partner commitments to accelerate global access to Covid-19 vaccines, including more than $300 million in financial contributions as well as in-kind donations, including millions of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to be shared by COVAX.
At an event hosted by the US and Gavi, US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and USAID Acting Administrator Gloria Steele applauded other countries that have made and delivered pledges and urged all partners to do more to end the pandemic.
The US recognises that as long as Covid-19 is spreading and generating new variants anywhere, it poses a threat to people everywhere.
Also read: Asian shares mixed as vaccine wait tempers Wall St optimism
Secretary Blinken expressed that "in addition to our planned contributions to Gavi totaling $4 billion, the US is prepared to provide further assistance to support the global Covid response".
He called on partners to work alongside Gavi to support urgent vaccine manufacturing, supply, and delivery needs.
At the “One World Protected” virtual event, presentations took stock of progress to date to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, made the investment case for contributions to COVAX, and encouraged countries and the private sector to make new commitments.
COVAX is an initiative co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), with an aim to equitably deliver safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines on a global scale.