COVAX On Pace To Deliver 2 Billion Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine

COVAX has now delivered more than 38 million doses across six continents

WHO workers Nestor Ariel Salazar Cabares, Roesenber de la Cruz Rodriguez, Giovanni Diaz Gaitan and Juan Alberto Sanchez finish setting up the COVID-19 vaccination site in the indigenous community of Concordia, Colombia.

More than one hundred economies have received life-saving COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Of the over 100 economies reached, 61 are among the 92 lower-income economies receiving vaccines funded through the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

Despite reduced supply availability in March and April – the result of vaccine manufacturers scaling and optimizing their production processes in the early phase of the rollout, as well as increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines in India – COVAX expects to deliver doses to all participating economies that have requested vaccines in the first half of the year.

“In under four months since the very first mass vaccination outside a clinical setting anywhere in the world, it is tremendously gratifying that the roll-out of COVAX doses has already reached one hundred countries,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. As we continue with the largest and most rapid global vaccine rollout in history, this is no time for complacency.”

“COVAX has given the world the best way to ensure the fastest, most equitable rollout of safe and effective vaccines to all at-risk people in every country on the planet,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. To do this, we need governments, along with other partners, to take necessary steps to increase supply, including by simplifying barriers to intellectual property rights, eliminating direct and indirect measures that restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccines, and donating excess vaccine doses as quickly as possible.”

According to its latest supply forecast, COVAX expects to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines in 2021.

More great reading