COVAX: "Astra Vaccine, a Life-Saving Tool"... Expected to Deliver as Scheduled

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The global vaccine procurement alliance 'COVAX Facility' is expected to proceed with the planned introduction of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, despite controversies over its preventive effectiveness. Accordingly, the AstraZeneca vaccine is projected to be delivered to 145 countries worldwide in the first half of this year.

On the 8th (local time), according to major foreign media including AFP, Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which leads COVAX alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, stated, "The AstraZeneca vaccine is a life-saving tool" and "remains important." He added, "We must use the tools we currently have as effectively as possible" and "It is too early to discard the vaccine."

COVAX, established to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, plans to deliver 337 million doses worldwide in the first half of this year. The AstraZeneca vaccine accounts for 99.7% (336 million doses) of this total.

WHO and Gavi have taken a cautious stance regarding research findings that suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine has low preventive effectiveness against the variant virus originating from South Africa. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "The sample size of the study is too small," and added, "WHO will decide on the emergency use authorization of the AstraZeneca vaccine within a few days."

Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, also indicated during a press briefing that "research on the AstraZeneca vaccine's effectiveness against the South African variant is still ongoing," suggesting that there are currently no plans to reject the vaccine, according to major foreign media reports.

Meanwhile, the South African government reportedly reversed its suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to AFP and others. Facing disruptions in the vaccination plan, instead of halting vaccinations, they decided to conduct a 'phased vaccination' involving 100,000 people to precisely measure effectiveness. Salim Abdool Karim, co-chair of the COVID-19 advisory committee, stated, "We will proceed with phased administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine to evaluate its effectiveness in preventing severe disease."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.