AP: Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to the poor faces trouble
“An ambitious humanitarian project to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the world’s poorest people is facing potential shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration, and vaccines themselves — and is running into skepticism even from some of those it’s intended to help most. In one of the biggest obstacles, rich countries have locked up most of the world’s potential vaccine supply through 2021, and the U.S. and others have refused to join the project, called Covax. … It is being led by the World Health Organization, a U.N. agency; Gavi, a public-private alliance, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that buys immunizations for 60% of the world’s children; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, another Gates-supported public-private collaboration…” (Cheng/Hinnant, 10/1).

CIDRAP: As COVID-19 total tops 34 million, World Bank offers vaccine plan for poorer nations
“The global COVID-19 total topped 34 million cases [Thursday], as an official from the World Bank announced a $12 billion plan to help lower-income countries buy vaccine[s] and as U.S. lawmakers clung to the hope of a still-elusive stimulus bill to limit the pandemic’s economic damage to families and businesses. … At a side event at the United Nations General Assembly [Wednesday], World Bank President David Malpass said the group is interested in fast-tracking the financing of COVID-19 vaccines, similar to the way it galvanized funding in March to help countries scale up emergency health support. He announced that he is proposing that the World Bank board make $12 billion available to countries to purchase and deploy COVID-19 vaccine[s], once regulatory agencies approve them. He said the additional support would target low- to middle-income countries that don’t have enough access and would help them alter the course of the pandemic for their people…” (Schnirring, 10/1).