Gavi Raises $8.8B For Global Immunization Programs, Launches Advance Market Commitment Program For Coronavirus Vaccines; AstraZeneca Partners With Gavi, CEPI To Make, Distribute Any Successful Vaccine

Al Jazeera: Vaccines alliance raises $8.8bn for global immunization plans
“Governments, companies, and individuals around the world have pledged $8.8bn for a global vaccines alliance to help immunization programs stalled by the coronavirus pandemic and support the development and distribution of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. The virtual meeting on Thursday beat a funding target of $7.4bn for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to provide vaccines at a reduced cost to 300 million children worldwide over the next five years, the international group said…” (6/4).

Devex: Gavi launches tool to ‘ensure equitable access’ to coronavirus vaccine
“A new funding mechanism to help ensure a future coronavirus vaccine is accessible to lower-income countries was announced by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, at the organization’s replenishment summit on Thursday. The Advance Market Commitment for COVID-19 Vaccines, or Covax AMC, will be the first ‘building block towards a global mechanism to ensure equitable access to future COVID-19 vaccines,’ according to a statement by Gavi. … Covax AMC has so far raised $567 million from 12 donors out of a $2 billion target. … Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has already signed up to the Covax AMC to guarantee 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford. Discussions with other vaccine manufacturers are ongoing, according to [Gavi CEO Seth] Berkley…” (Worley, 6/5).

STAT: AstraZeneca lays out plan for producing 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine, if it works
“The drug giant AstraZeneca said Thursday that it has found partners to manufacture and distribute 2 billion doses of the experimental Covid-19 vaccine created by Oxford University, inking a series of deals with non-government organizations and another manufacturer. AstraZeneca said that CEPI and Gavi, public-private partnerships aimed at developing and distributing vaccines, would spend $750 million to manufacture and make available 300 million doses of the vaccine to distribute by the end of the year — assuming the vaccine is shown to be safe and effective. It also reached a licensing agreement with SII, previously known as the Serum Institute of India, to supply 1 billion doses of the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries. SII committed to provide 400 million doses before the end of 2020. AstraZeneca had previously said that it plans to ship 100 million doses to the United Kingdom and 300 million to the U.S…” (Herper, 6/4).

Washington Post: The biggest challenge for a coronavirus vaccine could be getting countries to share
“…The twists and turns of the scientific race to develop and mass produce a vaccine are being closely followed, with mere hints of progress sending the stock market surging. But an even more important challenge looms, because any vaccine will have to be distributed globally to stamp out the pandemic as quickly as possible and avoid a humanitarian disaster in which rich countries restart their economies while people in poorer countries continue to die…” (Wan/Johnson, 6/4).

Additional coverage of the Global Vaccine Summit, AstraZeneca’s deals to produce a successful COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine-related news is available from ABC News, ABC (Australia), BBC, CNBC, Devex, Fortune, The Guardian (2), The Lancet, NBC, Reuters (2), Thomson Reuters Foundation, U.N. News, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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