COVAX will supply 190 million vaccines for poor countries in first quarter of 2021

Saturday, January 23rd 2021 - 08:57 UTC

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COVAX initial aim is to immunize the most vulnerable 20% of poorer coronavirus threatened nations. Tedros blasted rich countries over hoarding.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the COVAX scheme had reached a deal with vaccine maker Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses for poorer countries.

Another 150 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine will come in the first quarter of 2021 under COVAX — assuming WHO safety clearance, said Seth Berkley, chief executive of the private-public vaccination fund GAVI.

Addressing a press conference in Geneva, UN agency head Tedros added that fresh US “commitment” under new President Joe Biden to join COVAX meant “that we are closer to fulfilling” the scheme's promise.

Launched last year before vaccines became readily available, COVAX' initial aim is to immunize the most vulnerable 20% of poorer coronavirus threatened nations. Earlier this week, Tedros blasted rich countries over hoarding.

Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla told the virtual Geneva conference that the initial dispatch would be on a not-for-profit basis, adding developing countries should have “the same access to vaccines as the rest of the world.”

The Geneva announcements come as wealthy countries inoculate millions, some using shots procured under bilateral deals, decried officially, for example, by the EU.

Asked how many vaccine doses all manufacturers might produce this year, GAVI's Berkley said: “I think we're talking about numbers in the range of six to seven billion doses.”

Chinese and Russian vaccines, if proven safe and efficacious, could also be added to COVAX, Berkley added.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said WHO head Tedros, “but the light at the end of the tunnel continues to grow brighter.”