E-Paper
‘Covid vaccination is currently very uneven’: Gavi deputy CEO Anuradha Gupta interview
During a global pandemic, when people in all countries require protection of vaccines to stay safe, vaccine inequity of this kind leads to disenchantment and loss of trust. Gavi deputy CEO Anuradha Gupta said.
The imbalance between demand and supply has led to protectionist measures by countries that are Covid-19 vaccine producers, frantic purchasing by richer economies, and profit-seeking by manufacturers, said Anuradha Gupta, Gavi ‘s deputy CEO, in an interview to HT. Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance leads the Covax facility that was created last year to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines across the world.
How do you see the global Covid vaccination journey so far?
Covid vaccination is currently very uneven. 80% of people in high -and upper middle- income countries have already received their first dose compared to only 20% of people in low- and lower middle-income countries. This means that despite Covid-19 vaccines having been developed at an extraordinary pace and despite vaccines proving to be highly effective in reducing serious disease and hospitalizations, the full benefits have not been reaped.
mRNA vaccines have been a major breakthrough, signalling huge potential to combat other serious diseases in future. Covid-19 vaccines have been developed, trialled and approved at an unprecedented pace. These are major achievements.
How many vaccine doses have been distributed under the Covax facility and to how many countries? And since when?
Operating within a supply-constrained environment has been hugely challenging. Still, Covax has managed to deliver nearly 400 million doses across the world.
Covax didn’t receive as many vaccine doses for distribution as initially expected.
Covax has been steadfast in its goal to deliver 2 billion doses though the timelines have shifted depending on supply availability. Several countries have responded to the call to donate their surplus doses. All things going well, as many as 1.4 billion doses might be made available in 2021 itself.
How much did Covax arrangement suffer because of India restricting exports. Since India has opened up exports again, how much is the Covax facility expected to get in the first lot from here, and by when?
Our earliest and largest advance purchase agreements were with the Serum Institute of India ( SII). Gavi is the single largest procurer of childhood vaccines and SII is among our major suppliers, with a strong track record... So lack of timely supply from SII has severely impacted the ability of Covax to rapidly deliver doses to lower income countries.Though Covax now has a diversified portfolio comprising of 11 vaccines, SII supplies would greatly help to reduce vaccine inequity.
This pandemic also found countries indulging in vaccine nationalism. What are the lessons learnt, and possible solutions to avert similar experiences in future?
One of the key lessons we’ve witnessed is that a global mechanism like Covax can succeed in its mission only if all parties including country governments and manufacturers fulfil their commitments. If that doesn’t happen, institutions and leaders lose credibility.
