Covax delivers one billionth vaccine dose
The Covax scheme aimed at equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines hit a "key milestone" Saturday when it delivered its one billionth dose, one of its key backers said.
The Covax facility was set up in 2020 by the World Health Organization, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to ensure that poorer countries can access the vaccines needed to battle the pandemic.
"Covax has delivered its first billionth dose of Covid-19 vaccines to 144 countries & territories across the world," Gavi chief executive Seth Berkley tweeted.
"It's a key milestone in the largest and most rapid global vaccine rollout in history."
All countries have been permitted to order doses through the mechanism, but lower-income countries have received the jabs free of charge.
But while reaching that one-billion milestone is impressive, Covax has fallen far short of its initial objective of delivering two billion doses by the end of 2021.
That is because it has been forced to compete with rich countries willing to pay a high price and hoarding doses.
In a speech on Thursday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that while more than 9.4 billion vaccine doses had been administered around the world, more than 85 percent of people in Africa have yet to receive a single dose.
Health experts warn that allowing Covid to spread unabated in some places dramatically increases the chance of new, more dangerous variants emerging.
WHO said late last month that nearly half of its 194 member states had missed its target of vaccinating 40 percent of their population by the end of 2021.
It has called for a redoubling of efforts to ensure all countries manage to hit its second target, of vaccinating 70 percent of their populations, by mid-2022.
India yesterday reported 271,202 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, its highest daily count in eight months, taking its total tally to 37.12 million, the federal health ministry said.
Deaths from Covid-19 rose by 314 to 486,066, the ministry said.
According to the Health Ministry, over 93 per cent of the adult population have received at least one dose while over 69.8 percent have been fully vaccinated. The drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.
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