‘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.

Published on: May 20, 2021, 07:59:44 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

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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.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More