G7 Leaders pledge 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX

By Zoila Palma: Global leaders at the G7 summit in the United Kingdom have pledged 870 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to COVAX.

The move is being done in support of the call for global equitable access and to help end the acute phase of the pandemic.

The leaders reaffirmed their support for COVAX as “the primary route for providing vaccines to the poorest countries.”

A statement from COVAX said that the facility welcomes this commitment and looks forward to seeing doses flowing to countries as soon as possible.

COVAX says that it remains focused on securing as many shared doses as possible immediately, as the third quarter of this year is when the gap between deliveries and countries’ ability to absorb doses will be greatest.

“This will help address short-term supply constraints currently impacting the global response to COVID-19 and minimize the prospect of future deadly variants,” COVAX noted.

In addition, COVAX urged multilateral development banks to urgently release funding to help countries prepare their health systems for large-scale rollout of vaccines in the coming months.

WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stressed: “Many other countries are now facing a surge in cases – and they are facing it without vaccines. We are in the race of our lives, but it’s not a fair race, and most countries have barely left the starting line. We welcome the generous announcements about donations of vaccines and thank leaders. But we need more, and we need them faster.”

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