COVAX

COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and others. It is one of the three pillars of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative begun in April 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission, and the government of France as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX aims to coordinate international resources to enable the equitable access of COVID-19 diagnostics, treatments, and COVID-19 vaccines.[1]

Overview

COVAX is co-led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and others.[1]

By 15 July 2020, 165 countries – representing 60% of the human population – had joined COVAX.[2]

Vaccine candidates

Many of the countries that will benefit from COVAX, have "limited regulatory capacity" and depend on WHO's authorisations. By early 2021, WHO was reviewing 11 potential COVID-19 vaccine for its Emergency Use Listing (EUL).[3] The first WHO authorised for its EUL on 31 December 2020, was the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine—an RNA vaccine developed by BioNTech in cooperation with Pfizer, and sold under the brand name Comirnaty.[4][5]

The WHO stated in a press release on 24 August 2020 that COVAX had nine CEPI-supported vaccine candidates and nine candidates undergoing trials, giving it the largest selection of COVID-19 vaccinations in the world.[6] By December, COVAX had finalized negotiations with other manufacturers that gave it access to two billion vaccine doses.[7]

Distribution

On 3 February 2021, GAVI, the WHO, and UNICEF published the country-by-country distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccines forecast for first half of 2021.[8] The early projection includes 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Q1 2021 and 336 million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in first half 2021 to the 145 COVAX facility participants.[9][10] It is expected that health care workers and the most vulnerable will receive the first doses, which are anticipated to reach approximately 3.3% of the total population of each participating country by the end of the first half of 2021.[10]

Top recipients of the Interim Distribution Forecast as of 3 February 2021 (doses)[10]
AMC: Advance Market Commitment; SFP: Self-Financing Participants
ParticipantSFP/AMCAstraZeneca
SII		AstraZeneca
SK Bioscience		Pfizer/BioNTechTotal
 IndiaAMC97,164,000--97,164,000
 PakistanAMC17,160,000--17,160,000
 NigeriaAMC16,008,000--16,008,000
 IndonesiaAMC-13,708,800-13,708,800
 BangladeshAMC12,792,000--12,792,000
 BrazilSFP-10,672,800-10,672,800
 EthiopiaAMC8,928,000--8,928,000
 Congo, Dem. Rep.AMC6,948,000--6,948,000
 MexicoSFP-6,472,800-6,472,800
 PhilippinesAMC-5,500,800117,0005,617,800

Participants

As of 15 December 2020, 61 countries have signed commitment agreements to the COVAX Facility as well as "Team Europe" which consists of 29 European countries. In addition, 78 countries have submitted non-binding confirmations of intent to participate in the COVAX Facility. Other 92 low- and middle-income economies are eligible to have their participation in the COVAX Facility supported by the COVAX AMC.[11]

European Union

As of November 2020, the European Union (EU) and EU members have pledged 870 million euros to COVAX.[12] The European Commission (EC) brought the EU into COVAX on 31 August 202 and pledged 400 million euros in guarantees,[13] but did not state how this money would be paid out or its conditions.[14] The EC pledged a further 100 million euros from the 11th European Development Fund to COVAX via a grant to GAVI on 12 November. Individual EU member states have also made additional pledges; France donated an additional 100 million euros, Spain an additional 50 million euros, and Finland an additional two million euros.[12]

According to the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany has joined COVAX through the European Union and has pledged 300 million euros for the treatment of COVID-19 in developing nations.[15]

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has provided 548 million pounds to COVAX.[16] As of 18 December 2020, the United Kingdom was the biggest single donor to COVAX-AMC.[17]

United States

As part of its isolationist America First policy,[18] the Trump administration stated on 1 September 2020 that it would not join COVAX because of its association with the WHO,[19][20] from which it had begun a year-long withdrawal process on 6 July 2020.[21] Following the 2020 United States presidential election, Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President announced that the United States would remain in the WHO and that the US would join COVAX. This reversal of American policy was welcomed by European politicians.[22]

COVAX planned to consult incoming U.S. President Joe Biden on COVAX.[23]

COVAX-AMC donors as of 18 December 2020 (million USD)[24]
DonorContributions
 United Kingdom706
 Canada246
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation156
 Saudi Arabia153
 Norway134
 Japan130
 European Union117
 France117
 Germany117
 Italy103
Other Donors94
 Spain59
 Australia58
Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin30
  Switzerland22
Anonymous Foundation22
 New Zealand11
 Sweden11
 South Korea10
 Kuwait10
 Qatar10
TikTok10
 Denmark8
Transferwise7
 Netherlands6
 Singapore5
Soccer Aid4
 Greece2
 Iceland2
 Colombia1
Mastercard1
 Estonia0.1
 Monaco0.1
 Bhutan0.01
Total2,361

References
  1. "COVAX explained". gavi.org. GAVI. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. World Health Organization (15 July 2020). "More than 150 countries engaged in COVID-19 vaccine global access facility". Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. Widianto, Stanley (January 29, 2021). "COVAX to ship enough shots for 3% of poor countries' populations in H1 - WHO". Reuters. Jakarta. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  4. "Comirnaty EPAR". European Medicines Agency (EMA). Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. "WHO issues its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine and emphasizes need for equitable global access". World Health Organization (WHO) (Press release). 31 December 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. World Health Organization (24 August 2020). "172 countries and multiple candidate vaccines engaged in COVID-19 vaccine Global Access Facility" (Press release). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. World Health Organization (18 December 2020). "COVAX Announces additional deals to access promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates; plans global rollout starting Q1 2021" (Press release). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. Jerving, Sara (3 February 2021). "COVAX releases country-by-country of vaccine distribution figures". Devex. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  9. "COVAX publishes first interim distribution forecast". Gavi. 3 February 2021.
  10. "The Covax Facility: Interim Distribution Forecast – latest as of 3 February 2021" (PDF). COVAX. 3 February 2021.
  11. "COVAX" (PDF). COVAX. 15 December 2020.
  12. European Commission (12 November 2020). "EU increases its contribution to COVAX to €500 million to secure COVID-19 vaccines for low and middle-income countries" (Press release). Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. European Commission (31 August 2020). "Coronavirus Global Response: Commission joins the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX)" (Press release). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  14. Guarascio, Francesco; Nebehay, Stephanie (31 August 2020). "EU offers 400 million euros to WHO-led COVID-19 vaccine initiative". Reuters. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. "Corona-Impfstoff weltweit fair verteilen: GAVI kündigt erste Lieferung von Impfdosen über COVAX an". Federal Foreign Office (in German). Federal Republic of Germany. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  16. "Corona-Covax: How will Covid vaccines be shared with poorer countries? an". BBC News (in eng). BBC. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  17. "Key Outcomes: COVAX AMC" (PDF). Gavi.
  18. Williams, Abigail (3 September 2020). "U.S. opts out of WHO-linked global COVID-19 vaccine effort". NBC News. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. Beer, Thomas (1 September 2020). "U.S. Won't Join Global Coronavirus Vaccine Effort Because It's Led By The WHO". Forbes. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  20. Rauhala, Emily; Abutaleb, Yasmeen (1 September 2020). "U.S. says it won't join WHO-linked effort to develop, distribute coronavirus vaccine". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  21. Smith, Allan; Perlmutter-Gumbiner, Elyse (7 July 2020). "Trump administration gives formal notice of withdrawal from WHO". NBC News. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  22. Nebehay, Stephanie (21 January 2021). "U.S., staying in WHO, to join COVID vaccine push for poor nations: Fauci". Reuters. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  23. "Vaccine alliance expects to hold talks with Biden team on COVAX". Reuters. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  24. "Key Outcomes: COVAX AMC" (PDF). Gavi.
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