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8.25pm GMT
The World Health Organization hopes to have half a billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines available for distribution by the global COVAX initiative in the first quarter of 2021, its chief scientist said.
To date 189 countries have joined the COVAX programme, which is backed by the WHO and seeks to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. The United States is not among them, having secured bilateral deals. The initial COVAX plan is to vaccinate the 20% of populations at highest risk, including health workers and people aged over 65.
The goal is to get at least 2 billion doses by end of 2021 which will be enough to vaccinate 20% of the populations of countries that are part of COVAX,” chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a Geneva news conference.
So countries can start expecting doses toward the end of the first quarter of 2021. A few countries may start earlier, it’s likely, possible, that we may have some learnings by going early into a few countries,” she said.
8.10pm GMT
World Health Organization leaders have warned vaccines do not mean the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
