WHO secures 40 million COVID-19 doses for poorer nations, announces chief Tedros

As the global COVID-19 infections are nearing a grim milestone of 100 million cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that his agency’s COVAX scheme has reached an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for poorer countries. Further, assuming WHO clearances, he informed that 150 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered in the first quarter of 2021 under COVAX assuming WHO safety clearances. 

WHO chief said, “That’s why today I’m glad to announce that COVAX has signed an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for up to 40 million doses of its vaccine. Additionally, pending WHO emergency use listing, we expect almost 150 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to be available for distribution by COVAX in the first quarter of this year.”

The WHO secretary-general also said that both announcements together mean that under COVAX initiative the vaccinations will begin delivering in February if the UN health agency can finalise a supply agreement for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech along with emergency use listing for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine candidate. By the end of this year, WHO-backed COVAX initiative, he said, is on track to deliver at least two billion doses. 

He said, “COVAX is on track to deliver 2 billion doses by the end of this year. This agreement also opens the door for countries who are willing to share doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to donate them to COVAX and support rapid rollout.”

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Coronavirus Infections Close To Grim 100 Million Mark

The global coronavirus toll hit another grim milestone on January 23 as it reached nearly the 100 million infections mark, according to the world virus tracker. As many as 2.1 million fatalities have been recorded globally since the pandemic hit. The US remains the hardest impacted nation with 25,566,789 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, and 427,635 deaths. The newly sworn-in Joe Biden's administration sprang to action after President signed executive orders mandating measures critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus.

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