Beijing, December 16 (Xinhua) -- Seth Berkeley, CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, said on the 14th that early indications show that the worry about the mutated new coronavirus Amickon strain has weakened the willingness of rich countries to donate new crown vaccines. He warned that if rich countries were to stockpile vaccines in large quantities again, it could lead to an increase in global vaccine distribution.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is leading the implementation of the UN-led COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX), which regularly publishes the availability of COVID-19 vaccines under this mechanism. The agency's latest judgment is that the supply of vaccines under the COVAX mechanism may be reduced again due to factors such as vaccine export controls and the large stockpiling of vaccines in some vaccine-producing countries.
This is a Chinese-aided COVID-19 vaccine filmed at Cameroon's capital, Enseimalan Airport, on Dec. 14. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Copso)
The World Health Organization said on the 14th that the Olmiqueron strain is spreading at an "unprecedented" rate, or has spread to most countries and regions around the world. Speaking to the Associated Press on the same day at home on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland, Berkeley said concerns about the Omiljun strain had prompted many countries around the world to speed up their vaccination programs and speed up access to more vaccines.
"We're starting to see donors reluctant to donate vaccines as quickly as possible, and that's because of the uncertainty we're currently facing," he said, "of course, our long-term concern is that if vaccines against the Omiljun strain are needed, the world could once again face an unfair distribution of vaccines, with rich countries once again stockpiling vaccines in large quantities, as we saw in the early days of the outbreak." ”
A man walks out of a vaccination site near Times Square in the United States on Dec. 13. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
The Associated Press reports that of the roughly 10 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have been delivered worldwide, rich countries receive the vast majority of them; only 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are distributed through the COVAX mechanism.
Today, global COVID-19 vaccine production has kept pace, and vaccine supply is no longer as problematic as it once was. One of the current challenges in global vaccine distribution is ensuring that the countries or regions that receive vaccines can effectively preserve them. Subject to the level of economic development, some countries or regions lack or do not have refrigeration equipment with low enough temperatures, and vaccines delivered in batches need to be used up as soon as possible and are difficult to preserve.
Berkeley said vaccines can be at risk of waste, but in some cases it is difficult to avoid. However, he firmly believes that this is the case for less than 1% of vaccines distributed through the COVAX mechanism.
On December 14, staff delivered the COVID-19 vaccine aided by the Chinese government to the Philippines at Manila International Airport in the Philippines. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Umari)
According to Berkeley, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, expects to provide a cumulative of 800 million to 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to poor countries by the end of this year. This amount is in line with the stated target.
The Geneva-based agency expects to receive 1.4 billion doses of vaccine by the end of this year, and about 800 million doses in the first quarter of next year.
Due to the uncertainty of the production capacity of vaccine manufacturers and the approval of pharmaceutical regulatory agencies, the vaccine donation dose is difficult to estimate to some extent.
THE WHO reminded on the 9th that high-income countries are worried about the spread of the Olmikron strain, which may increase vaccine hoarding, which will lead to more tight vaccine supply in low-income countries. (Xuelin Bao)