The global COVAX vaccination initiative has developed detailed plans to distribute vaccines to 145 participants in the first half of 2021.
Zoom in: Canada, which bought more doses per capita than any other country, nonetheless chose to take 1.9 million doses of COVAX.
The whole picture: COVAX is the only global mechanism for the distribution of vaccines and involves almost every country on earth, with more prosperous countries providing access for the poor.
- The initial phases involve 336 million doses of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as a much smaller volume of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
- By the end of 2021, COVAX wants to ensure that at least 20% of the population in each country is vaccinated.
Each participant has the right to demand doses, but most rich countries that gained access through bilateral transactions chose not to do so, at least in the first wave.
- As Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, told reporters on Wednesday: “Does it help if countries with many bilateral transactions do not take doses? It helps, of course, because it means more doses are available to others.”
- While several other rich countries (Monaco, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore) demand COVAX doses, Canada is the only G7 country on the list.
What they say: “COVAX has always been part of the Government of Canada’s procurement strategy,” International Development Minister Karina Gould told CTVand added that the government’s top priority is to ensure that Canadians have access.
The state of affairs: Although Canada purchased about 200 million doses for its population of 38 million people, it administered only one million.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under intense pressure over repeated delays in supply, due in part to a lack of domestic manufacturing capacity.
- The other side: Many countries need to administer a single dose, and will do so before they start receiving supplies from COVAX.
What to look for: Trudeau has previously pledged to donate excess doses to COVAX, but has not yet said whether Canada will do so until it has fully covered its own household needs.
Note: North Korea, which shut down the world even more severely during the pandemic and claims to be COVID-free, is also expecting doses of COVAX.
Go deeper: The global line for coronavirus vaccines dates back to 2023.