Covax, a platform for distributing covid-19 vaccines to less developed countries, today described the G7 agreement to donate 870 million doses as “historic,” hoping that it will be made available quickly.
“In the face of an urgent need for supply, Covax is focused on ensuring that as many doses as possible are shared immediately,” said the initiative, which brings together the World Health Organization (WHO), the Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI) and the Alliance for Innovation. and Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI).
According to Covax, the commitment signed at the G7 summit (the seven largest economies in the world), which was held in Cornwall, southwest England, expects that at least half of the 870 million doses will have been delivered by the end of this year.
“G7 countries pledged to directly share at least 870 million doses of vaccines, with a goal of delivering half of them by the end of 2021, and reiterated their support for Covax as the main route to providing vaccines to the poorest countries.” a program.
Covax has also ensured that it intends to work with G7 and other countries providing vaccines for this delivery mechanism to reduce short-term supply difficulties affecting the global response to the pandemic.
“This is an important moment for global solidarity and a milestone in efforts to ensure that the people most at risk are protected, in every country,” Seth Berkeley, CEO of the Vaccine Alliance, said in the statement, which also spoke. That “Promised doses will quickly turn into given doses.”
For WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, the agreement reached at the G7 summit came at a time when “many countries are facing an increase in cases, but without vaccines” against Covid-19.
“We are in the race of our lives, but it is not a fair race, and most countries have barely left the starting line,” the WHO official warned.
At the summit that concluded today, G7 leaders pledged to provide millions of additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the next year, but refrained from explicitly supporting the suspension of patents, according to the final statement.
“The G7’s total commitments since the beginning of the pandemic are a total of more than two billion doses of vaccine,” they said, including several million pledged this weekend in Carbis Bay, where the meeting took place.
Member states, Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, along with the European Union (EU), were expected to commit an additional 1 billion doses.
But the statement clarifies that this amount includes donations made since February.
In recent days, the United States announced the donation of 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by 92 deprived countries, 200 million of them by the end of the year, and the United Kingdom 100 million surplus vaccines, of which 30 million by the end. from 2021.
