The Covax initiative, which seeks to ensure equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines, hopes to deliver a dose to 3.3 per cent of the populations of 145 countries by the end of the first half of 2021.
An interim report by the UN-backed facility said 337 million doses should be enough to protect the most vulnerable groups, such as health workers, in countries that face difficulties in obtaining vaccines.
It is expected that more than 100 million doses will be delivered by the end of March.
Almost all of the distribution in the first half of the year will come from UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and its Indian partner, the Serum Institute of India.
-
A pianist rehearses ahead of a concert at the Colosseum, as it reopens after the coronavirus restrictions were eased in the Lazio region, Rome, Italy. Reuters -
Students of the Liceo Sannazaro of Naples, who decided not to enter the classroom on the first day of schools returning, hold an assembly outside the school, in Naples, Italy. EPA -
Passengers ride a subway on the day Milan returns to being a 'yellow zone' in Italy. The city of Milan and its surrounding Lombardy region has entered the yellow zone with the lowest level of restrictions. EPA -
Ski resort workers block the road to the Frejus tunnel crossing the border with Italy in France to protest against the French government's decision to close the resorts for the 2020/2021 winter season. AFP -
Ski resort workers protest on the road near the border with Italy. AFP -
A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to a colleague at the Santa Maria hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. Bloomberg -
Portuguese National Republican Guards control a checkpoint in the Portuguese-Spanish border. Portugal imposed controls on its border with Spain in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
People light candles during a vigil to commemorate the people who died due to the coronavirus disease, in Berlin, Germany. Reuters -
Guests, dressed in carnival costumes, listening in their car to the German band CatCar – Cat Ballou, who were performing a drive-in concert in Cologne, Germany. Getty Images -
A hairdresser wearing a face mask cuts the hair of a customer in a salon in Nicosia, Cyprus. The government has removed some restrictions, with some businesses allowed to re-open while following strict rules for hygiene. EPA
This is contingent on the World Health Organisation authorising the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use, which is likely to happen later this month. It also depends on the readiness of countries.
A new study by the University of Oxford suggests that the AstraZeneca vaccine could cut the spread of the virus by two thirds and is highly effective after one dose.
Pfizer-BioNTech will contribute 1.2 million doses of its vaccine in the first quarter of the year, but the extremely cold conditions it must be kept in has meant challenges in supply to poorer countries.
Covax - co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation - seeks to distribute 2 billion vaccine doses to the world by the end of the year.
It has received over $6 billion of the $8 billion needed to cover procurement and distribution to the poorest countries.
“With these indicative allocations, governments and public health experts can now initiate the steps needed for a successful initial roll-out of Covid vaccines to frontline healthcare workers – the first part of the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation ever mounted,” said Unicef director general Henrietta Fore at a press conference.
Separately, she announced a new long-term deal that would see 1.1 billion doses supplied by India’s Serum Institute and AstraZeneca, and Novavax, over the coming years.
Each dose would cost around $3 for low and middle income countries.
