It is a first hope for the poorest states.

The WHO and the Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi) announced on Friday, December 18, that they planned to send the first vials of the anti-Covid-19 vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 to disadvantaged countries.

This would be done according to the Covax mechanism (Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access, global access to the vaccine against Covid-19).

This announcement comes, as several countries have launched with great fanfare in recent days their vaccination program against the coronavirus, as in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Covax mechanism, set up by the WHO and its partners, "has obtained nearly two billion" of doses so far, also declared the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a press conference.

More than 190 countries, including 92 low and middle income countries, participate in this mechanism.

Objective: doses to 20% of the population of participating countries before the end of 2021

In a statement, WHO and Gavi said it was now possible to "schedule the first vaccine deliveries in the first quarter of 2021, the first tranche of doses - enough to protect health and social workers - being delivered during the first half of 2021 to all participating economies, which have requested doses within this period ".

Further dose deliveries to all participants will follow in the second half of 2021, with the goal of delivering doses for up to 20% of the population of participating countries by the end of the year, the report said. communicated.

"Today's announcements offer the clearest path yet to end the acute phase of the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable populations around the world," the statement said.

And additional doses to achieve higher coverage levels will be available in 2022.

Authorization and preparation

Partner organizations point out that all of these vaccine shipments depend on several factors, such as regulatory approvals and country readiness.

Agreements have so far been signed with three laboratories - AstraZeneca, Novavax and Sanofi-GSK, which have not yet been authorized by national authorities.

But the WHO said on Friday that it had signed an agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson for 500 million doses of the vaccine candidate Janssen, which has not been authorized anywhere.

WHO is also conducting discussions with Pfizer, whose vaccine has been authorized by several countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

That of Moderna, with whom discussions are also underway, is in the process of being in the United States.

"The arrival of vaccines gives us the light at the end of the tunnel," said Tedros.

"But we will only truly end the pandemic if we end it everywhere at the same time, which means that it is essential to immunize certain people in all countries, rather than all people in certain countries," a- he added.

WHO and its partners also stress that the success of this colossal project will also depend on the funds received.

"Thanks to generous support from sovereign, private sector and philanthropic donors," the Covax mechanism "has met its urgent fundraising target for 2020 of $ 2 billion", but at least an additional $ 4.6 billion will be needed in 2021, the statement said.

With AFP

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