Covax System opens a new front to end the pandemic

The Covax system, which provides vaccines against Covid-19 to poor countries, aims to end the pandemic this year by guaranteeing not only doses, but also their distribution and injection.

Covax is a mechanism created, before vaccines were available, by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Gavi Alliance, Unicef ​​and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Its objective is to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines.

In mid-January, the engine delivered its billionth dose, an achievement and a disappointment, as the number is much lower than initially expected.

“In 2022, we can help stop Covid-19 by adapting the way we work, ensuring doses are used quickly, safely injected and respond to country preferences and coverage goals,” said Seth Berkley, director of the Gavi Alliance, in a request for donations on January 19.

new strategy

Covax faced obstacles, such as the strategy of rich countries to accumulate all possible doses, in addition to the long-standing export ban from India, where its main source of vaccine supply was located.

So it had to depend on donations from rich countries. But this also brought problems, because doses were too close to their expiration date and deliveries were too small or too irregular for campaigns to be effective.

For this year, Covax needs $5.2 billion over the next three months to fund the 2022 doses. $3.7 billion is needed to fund a stockpile of 600 million doses and ensure supply.

Another billions of dollars will go towards helping poor countries prepare and distribute vaccines to prevent waste. And another $545 million to cover expenses like transportation, syringes and insurance.

“What we don’t have today are the resources to help countries adapt to the new levels of challenge that Covid-19 will create in 2022,” Berkley said, referring to the arrival of new vaccines tailored to variants as they emerge.

stretch goal

Covax, which estimates it could save a million lives this year and halve the economic cost of the pandemic in some countries, says it has access to enough doses to vaccinate about 45% of the population in the 91 countries that benefit from donations. .

But the WHO’s target is that 70% of the population of each country will be vaccinated by July 2022.

An ambitious horizon, considering that 85% of the population of Africa has not yet received a dose of the antiviral serum. At the current rate, 109 countries will miss the target, according to the WHO.

Seth Berkley expects the next billion doses to be delivered in four to five months rather than a year like the first ones.

Richard Hatchett, director of CEPI, points out that the objective is also to help needy countries organize mass vaccination campaigns.

“At the last stage [entre a entrega e a injeção] will be the main challenge for 2022,” he said at a World Economic Forum colloquium. Up to 25 countries are expected to need help in this area.

In just over a year, a total of 9.8 billion doses were injected. In poor countries, 82% of them were managed thanks to the Covax system.