COVAX "Additional 2 Trillion Won Needed for Vaccine Support"

"Africa Faces Severe Vaccine Shortage... At Least 20 Million Doses Must Be Delivered Within 6 Weeks"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The international project for joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, the 'COVAX Facility,' announced that an additional 2.2 trillion KRW is needed to support vaccines for low-income countries.

On the 27th (local time), COVAX released a statement saying, "To raise the vaccination rate in low-income countries to 30%, an additional 2 billion USD (approximately 2.2 trillion KRW) is required," and added, "Funds must be secured by the 2nd of next month to finalize the supply plan for early 2022."

COVAX further emphasized, "With the rapid surge of COVID-19 cases in India, vaccine supply in the second quarter of this year has been severely impacted," and warned, "If the vaccine shortage situation is not resolved now, it could lead to fatal consequences." This is interpreted to mean that the worsening COVID-19 situation in India, which produces 60% of all vaccines and is called the 'world's vaccine factory,' has caused disruptions in vaccine supply.

So far, COVAX has delivered 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 126 countries, but it added that 190 million doses are still lacking to distribute the amount targeted by next month as originally planned.

Previously, COVAX agreed to receive COVID-19 vaccine donations from countries including France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The United States also pledged to donate 80 million doses of vaccines, but has not yet disclosed how and to which countries these will be allocated.

In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO), which leads COVAX, stressed the urgent need to supply AstraZeneca vaccines to Africa on the same day.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said, "We need to deliver 20 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Africa within six weeks," adding, "There are cases where people have received the first dose but cannot get the second dose due to lack of vaccine supply."

According to WHO data, 28 million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers have arrived in Africa, which is less than two doses per 100 people. In contrast, globally, 1.5 billion doses of COVID vaccines have been administered.

Director Moeti expressed concern, saying, "Africa needs vaccines now," and warned, "If vaccination campaigns are stopped under any circumstances, lives and hope will be lost."

Meanwhile, according to the international statistics site Worldometer, as of the previous day, Africa's cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases stand at 4,830,593, with 129,620 deaths.

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