BBC: Covid vaccine tracker: How’s my country and the rest of the world doing? Clue: Badly. But by no means everyone.
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Vaccines
Covid vaccine update: Those that work—and the others on the way
There are other noteworthy vaccines, even if they are not being used in Europe and the US.
The Sinovac, CanSino and Sinopharm vaccines have been developed by scientists in China and deals have signed with other countries in Asia and South America. Around one million people in China are reported to have been given the Sinopharm injection.
The Sputnik V vaccine, developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Centre, is also effective according to late stage trial results published in The Lancet. Some people have been immunised. The vaccine, which works in a similar way to the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines has also been deemed to be safe - and offer complete protection against hospitalisation and death.
What still needs to be done?
- Huge-scale manufacturing to produce billions of doses and distribute them around the world
- Research to find out how long protection lasts
- Research to discover what effect vaccines have on the spread of the virus
That’s
James Gallagher
@JamesTGallagher
BBC Health and science correspondent. Presenter of The Second Genome and The Inflamed Mind. Contrary to popular opinion my middle name is not Tiberius.
COVAX
WHO: COVAX
Working for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines
With a fast-moving pandemic, no one is safe, unless everyone is safe
COVAX is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF. In the Americas, the PAHO Revolving Fund is the recognized procurement agent for COVAX.
COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator
The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
10.6K subscribers
The global pandemic has already caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and disrupted the lives of billions more. As well as reducing the tragic loss of life and helping to get the pandemic under control, introduction of a vaccine will prevent the loss of US$ 375 billion to the global economy every month. Global equitable access to a vaccine, particularly protecting health care workers and those most-at-risk is the only way to mitigate the public health and economic impact of the pandemic.
What COVAX offers
- Doses for at least 20% of countries' populations
- Diverse and actively managed portfolio of vaccines
- Vaccines delivered as soon as they are available
- End the acute phase of the pandemic
- Rebuild economies
Our World in Data: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations
Global COVID-19 Vaccine Equity: U.S. Policy Options and Actions to Date
Summary of Primary Policy Options for Expanding Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines, and U.S. Actions Taken to Date* |
Policy Option |
U.S. Actions to Date |
Potential Additional Actions |
In-kind donations of vaccine doses |
- Administration “loaned” up to 4 million U.S.-owned doses of AstraZeneca to Mexico and Canada
- Administration announced 60 million AstraZeneca doses to be donated after FDA safety review
- Administration announced an additional 20 million other U.S.-owned and authorized vaccines will be donated by the end of June
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- Provide further bilateral or regional donations of U.S. owned AstraZeneca and/or other vaccines
- Provide multilateral donations of U.S. owned vaccines, through COVAX or other mechanism
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Funding for global vaccine efforts |
- Congress appropriated $4 billion to Gavi for COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution via COVAX, with $2 billion provided initially and another $2 billion provided contingent upon other donor support for Gavi/COVAX. The U.S. has already provided $2.5 billion, and is the single largest donor to COVAX.
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- Appropriate additional funding for Gavi/COVAX
- Provide funding for other global/regional vaccine procurement and distribution efforts such as via the World Bank, or the African Union.
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Expanding manufacturing |
- Administration enacted Defense Production Act to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine materials/supplies
- Prioritized production and export of materials and supplies vaccine manufacturing in India
- Administration helped broker production partnerships and licensing agreements between companies to spur vaccine manufacturing, including financial incentives
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- Intervene more directly and more aggressively in support of additional partnerships
- Provide incentives such as financing and/or advance purchase guarantees, or a “technology buyout”
- Incentivize or require technology transfer between current manufacturers and those in other countries
- Incentivize or require companies to participate in WHO’s mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub
- Assist in bolstering regulatory and safety capacity for COVID-19 manufacturing in LMICs
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Relaxing/Waiving Intellectual Property Protections |
- Lawmakers in the House and Senate have called for the US government to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines
- Administration announced its support for an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, to be negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO)
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- Impose federal waiver on intellectual property within federal jurisdiction related to COVID-19 vaccines
- Support WHO-led COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP); incentivize or require companies to participate
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We do not have room for all that is going on in US actions, far less what other countries are doing. As Hans Rosling taught us in Factfulness and at Gapminder, there is far more happening that we are aware of.
Other Donors
You?
"Sharing immediately available excess doses is a minimum, essential and emergency stop-gap measure, and it is needed right now.”
@unicefchief on the urgent action needed from G7 leaders to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are available for all.
Less than 2% of 1.56 billion #COVID19 vaccine doses given globally have reached Africa.
UNHCR chief @FilippoGrandi calls for COVID19 vaccine plans to include all - including refugees and the communities that host them.
Received a large consignment of Oxygen Concentrators from MAAHIR and Medical Aid of the UK. Huge thanks to the donors @sahayata and to those who made the seamless logistics possible. Stupendous support from the Honble MP @asadowaisi and @TelanganaCMO @umairDrKhan @AF_cares
And, Besides
There is far more going on than one can cover in a Diary.
Many people in rich countries are against immigration. But if everyone could live where they wanted, the world would be twice as rich
How migration could make the world richer | The Economist
Many of the recent political shifts in the West—the election of Donald Trump, the rise of populism in Europe and Brexit—can be partially attributed to the of mass migration. Yet increasing migration is one of the quickest ways to make the world richer.
More broadly,
Enjoy The day
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