• Deliveries of US-donated doses through COVAX to begin today 

  • Anticipated delivery of the Moderna vaccine to Honduras comes after announcements by President Biden of significant dose-sharing pledges; further deliveries to follow in coming days and weeks

  • José Manuel Barroso, Chair, Gavi Board – “We thank President Biden and his Administration, as well as other nations that have shared doses with COVAX, and call on other governments to work with us to get vaccines to countries as soon as possible.”

Geneva, 27 June 2021 – Following announcements in recent weeks of donation pledges by the Biden-Harris Administration, COVAX is preparing to ship doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated to COVAX by the United States Government to protect at-risk populations in those countries hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its first shipment, 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine will be delivered to Honduras. In the coming days, weeks and months, additional deliveries of several vaccines approved for emergency use both by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization are planned, to a wide number of countries. 

José Manuel Barroso, Gavi Board Chair, commented: “At this time of constrained global supply, we are delighted to see dose-sharing pledges translated into deliveries now, and look forward to seeing these doses reaching vulnerable groups around the world. We thank President Biden and his Administration, as well as other nations that have shared doses with COVAX, and call on all other governments with doses to work with us to protect those most at risk as soon as possible.”

This dose-sharing was made possible by the COVAX dose-sharing framework, which allows economies to share vaccine doses with others that have been secured either via their self-financed COVAX allocations or through bilateral deals. This will help to increase vaccine coverage, ensure that no dose goes to waste, and help to bring an end to the acute phase of the pandemic. The design and operationalization of the COVAX dose sharing mechanism is being supported by a contribution of CAD 5 million from Canada.

Notes to editors

About COVAX

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-convened by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner, developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is supporting COVAX vaccine deliveries in the Americas. 

Gavi’s role in COVAX

Gavi leads on procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants. Gavi also coordinates design, operationalisation and fundraising for the Gavi COVAX AMC, the mechanism that provides access to donor-funded doses of vaccine to 92 lower-income economies. As part of this work, Gavi provides funding and oversight for UNICEF procurement and delivery of vaccines to all AMC participants – operationalising the advance purchase agreements between Gavi and manufacturers – as well as support for partners’ and governments work on readiness and delivery. This includes tailored support to governments, UNICEF, WHO and other partners for cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. Gavi also co-designed, raises funds for and supports the operationalisation of the AMC’s no-fault compensation mechanism as well as the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Meghana Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org

Iryna Mazur
+41 79 429 36 71
imazur@gavi.org

Evan O’Connell
+41 79 682 18 95
eoconnell@gavi.org

Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org

Laura Shevlin
+ 41 79 529 92 87
lshevlin@gavi.org

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