Designated Foreign Secretary Tony Blinken announced in a confirmation hearing on Tuesday that President-elect Biden will bring the US into the COVAX initiative – the global effort of the World Health Organization and other groups to ensure that each country has access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Why it matters: Virtually the entire world has reported COVAX, apart from the US and Russia. It is expected to be the only source of vaccines for some of the poorest countries in the world, and it needs additional funding to achieve its goal of vaccinating at least 20% of the population in each country by 2021.
- COVAX is designed to provide high- and middle-income countries with funding to develop and distribute vaccines, thus effectively subsidizing access for low-income countries.
- Given the hundreds of millions of doses the country has already purchased directly, the US is likely to play the role of funder, rather than recipient.
- What to look for: Canada is developing a mechanism by which countries that have purchased more doses than they ultimately need can donate them via COVAX.
What he says: “We strongly believe we can do this – to ensure that every American gets the vaccine, but also to help ensure that other people around the world have access to it,” Blinken said of joining COVAX.
The other side: The Trump administration did not want to join, citing China’s influence on the WHO.
- Blinken said that although the WHO ‘needed reform’, the US would be better off sitting at the table.
Go deeper: Rich countries are taking the fast track. Others could wait years