A nurse prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Sarcelles, near Paris, on January 10, 2021.
ALAIN JOCARD | AFP | Getty Images
Pfizer will supply up to 40 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to a global alliance aimed at providing poor nations with coronavirus vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said Friday.
The agreement will allow Covax – led by WHO – to start administering vaccine doses to participating countries in February, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference. Tedros added that pending the emergency clearance, the program expects 150 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to be available for distribution during the first quarter of this year.
The Covax program aims to provide 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to participating countries, which includes low- to middle-income countries, by the end of this year. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires two separate shots weeks apart, indicating that the deal would cover only 20 million people.
Tedros said the deal would also allow other countries with Pfizer vaccine supplies to give them to the program. The WHO chief has been critical of rich nations that have signed supply agreements with drug manufacturers for their initial doses of Covid-19 vaccines, storing supplies from the poorest nations.
“This is not only significant for COVAX, it is a big step forward for equitable access to vaccines and is an essential part of the global effort to overcome this pandemic. We will only be safe anywhere if we are safe at all. everywhere, ”Dr. Seth said. Berkley, CEO of Gavi, Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during the press conference that the company will provide vaccine doses to Covax and the poorest countries at a price. Pfizer was the first company to receive a global emergency use list for its WHO vaccine, which allowed other countries to expedite regulatory approval processes to begin administering the vaccine.
Bourla said the company will help deliver the doses, which require ultra-cold storage and special handling, to low-income countries. UNICEF, which is helping to administer the doses, has previously warned that some of the world’s poorest countries could face challenges in storing and managing the shots once they arrive.
The program agreement with Pfizer brings its supply agreements to just over 2 billion doses in total, although negotiations will continue for additional supplies. The goal is to immunize health care and other front-line workers, as well as some high-risk people, starting in the first quarter of this year, according to Covax.
The deal comes after the U.S. decision to remain a member of the WHO under President Joe Biden. The new administration will also join the Covax program, a move the Trump administration resisted last year.
“I could not help being tempted to say that I am very happy that this press conference will take place on the day that the United States rejoins the WHO organization. I think it is a symbolic and fantastic day for us,” he said. said Bourla, head of Pfizer. he said in the briefing.