What is COVAX?

MORE THAN 200m doses of covid-19 vaccines have been administered around the world since December, when Britain approved the first rigorously tested jabs for mass vaccination. But as rich countries have rushed to inoculate their populations, poorer ones have watched from the sidelines. Only a handful of African countries have been able to afford vaccines, and many lack enough “cold chain” capacity to store them. Vaccine hoarding is also to blame for the unequal roll-out of the jabs. The 54 wealthiest countries are home to 18% of the world’s adult population, but have ordered 40% of all available vaccines. Covid-19 vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX), a vaccine-sharing scheme, offers a partial solution to the problems this will create. On February 24th Ghana became the first country in the world to receive jabs under the scheme. So what is COVAX?

When vaccine-makers unveiled their covid-19 candidates, governments raced to secure supplies. A recent analysis by ONE Campaign, an advocacy group, shows that rich countries have stockpiled over 1bn doses more than they need. This evoked something of a sense of déjà vu. In 2009 an outbreak of swine flu (known as A/H1N1) killed nearly 285,000 people worldwide. Vaccines were developed within months, and first became available in high-income countries where most doses had been secured through bilateral agreements with drug firms. After shortages and production delays, developing countries found themselves pushed to the back of the queue. By the time jabs were available for them, three months later, the epidemic had peaked and the vaccines were less useful.