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Substantial part of US donations of 80 mn Covid-19 vaccines to be allocated through COVAX
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.
A substantial part of the 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to be donated by the United States will be rolled out through the WHO-backed COVAX facility though country-specific allocations are yet to be made, President Joe Biden’s point-person for the global pandemic response said on Wednesday.
Gayle Smith, the coordinator for the global Covid-19 response at the 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 though COVAX but we have not made final decisions,” Smith, a former USAID director, told a news briefing. The US is confident that COVAX, the largest vaccine delivery platform, will undertake fair and science and data-based allocation of vaccines, she added.
“We’re going to be putting 80 million additional vaccines into the mix, making us the largest sharer of vaccines thus far,” she said. “I think as we all know, supply is a very big issue and we need many more vaccines for countries all over the world.”
Asked specifically about plans to assist India with vaccines, she replied, “From the president on down, given the surge there, India has been a major priority for us. We have delivered $100 million in emergency assistance [and] mobilised with the American private sector a pretty amazing response.”
As with other countries, she noted, the specific allocation of vaccines for India is yet to be decided.
In response to a question on whether one billion doses to be made in India for the Quad Vaccine Partnership could be used within the country, Smith said the final allocation will depend on conditions existing when these shots are available by 2022.
“On the Quad production, given the timeline for that production, I think its dispensation will depend to a great extent on the state of play around the world with vaccine coverage. That timeline is fairly extended,” she said.
“I think... in principle, those doses are available for internal use but also for export to the rest of the world. I think the final allocation or plan for that will depend on what conditions we’re facing at the time they are available.”
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has launched a global initiative for investments in multiple regions, including the Quad Vaccine Partnership to supply a billion doses by the end of 2022.
Smith said the US is working with producers around the world both to increase vaccine supplies and to bolster supply chains for ingredients, which too are in short supply. The DFC is making investments in manufacturing sites around the world and providing capital to increase supplies in the short and medium-term, she said.
The US will also work closely with its partners, she said, noting that Biden had said “we can do a great deal but we cannot do it alone”. Collaboration with the G7 and European Union will help efforts “to get to the scale needed to bring this pandemic under control,” she added.
The US is also hoping its decision to donate 80 million doses will encourage other countries to step up to share more doses so that there is maximum vaccine coverage. “Our view with respect to vaccine diplomacy... is that vaccines are tools for public health, they are the means for bringing this pandemic to an end. We do not see them, do not intend to use them as means for influence or pressure,” Smith said.
