‘Majority of 80 million jabs to be routed via Covax’: US official

Gayle Smith, the coordinator for the global Covid-19 response at the US state department, said the efforts of the US administration are focused on covering gaps in three areas - dose-sharing, increasing the supply of vaccines, and financing for the Covax facility.

A substantial part of the 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to be donated by the US will be rolled out through the WHO-backed Covax facility, though country-specific allocations are yet to be made, President Joe Biden’s pointperson for the global pandemic response said on Wednesday.

“We intend that the allocation of the vaccines will include a substantial portion through Covax, but we have not made final decisions,” Smith, a former USAID director, told reporters. (Bloomberg)

Gayle Smith, the coordinator for the global Covid-19 response at the US state department, said the efforts of the US administration are focused on covering gaps in three areas - dose-sharing, increasing the supply of vaccines, and financing for the Covax facility. Biden announced on Monday the US will share 20 million doses from its surplus stocks of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the end of June. This will be in addition to the earlier commitment to share 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“We intend that the allocation of the vaccines will include a substantial portion through Covax, but we have not made final decisions,” Smith, a former USAID director, told reporters.

The US is confident that Covax, the largest vaccine delivery platform, will undertake fair and science and data-based allocation of Covid-19 vaccines, she added.