Covax hopes to deliver 337 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by mid-2021

More than 100 million doses are expected to be delivered by the end of March

A traveller is tested at the Grasmere Toll Plaza in Lenasia, South Africa. Reuters

City of Tshwane's Special Infection Unit paramedics and a doctor load a man showing symptoms of Covid-19 into an isolation chamber in the north of Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

A normally busy interchange on the M2 east highway is seen devoid of vehicles during national lockdown in South Africa. EPA

A volunteer sprays disinfectant during a deep cleaning operation inside the Villa Liza Clinic, in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. AFP

A woman wearing a mask crosses a waterlogged street after rainfall in Thokoza, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. AP Photo

Empty buildings during lockdown in Sandton, South Africa. EPA

A City of Tshwane's Special Infection Unit paramedic closes the door of an ambulance in the north of Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

A health worker wears protective clothing as she prepares to test travellers at the Grasmere Toll Plaza, in Lenasia, South Africa. Reuters

An empty garage with no vehicles or staff during lockdown in South Africa. EPA

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.