Friday, March 29, 2024

17.2M vaccine doses announced for Pakistan by COVAX

17.2M vaccine doses announced for Pakistan by COVAX vaccination plan.

GENEVA: The COVAX program for a vaccine of COVID-19 has announced a list of countries that will distribute doses. So, Pakistan will receive 17.2 million doses.

The initiative has planned a dose sufficient for dozens of countries to immunize more than 3% of their population by mid-year.

The list includes concerns about whether low-income countries will stay out of the rich-dominated vaccination race, a problem created to solve Covax.

For the first time, it has determined how the program’s first 337.2 million doses will be distribute. The first deliveries are expected in late February.

About 145 countries will receive sufficient doses by mid-2021 to immunize 3.3% of their population.

A statement said the initial allocation was in line with the goal of “protecting the most vulnerable groups such as health workers”. That’s why initially 17.2M vaccine doses announced for Pakistan.

Countries receiving a dose proportional to their population, with most after India (97.2 million), Pakistan (17.2 million), Nigeria (16 million). Also Indonesia (13.7 million), Bangladesh (12.8 million) ) and Brazil (Brazil) to 10.6 million).

Apart from low-income countries, the list also includes affluent self-sufficient countries. Such as South Korea (2.6 million doses), Canada (1.9 million) and New Zealand (250,000).

“This is incredible. We can start vaccinating. That will come in the next few weeks,” Ann Lindstrand, coordinator of the World Health Organization’s vaccination program, told a news conference.

Covax is led by WHO, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, and the Innovation Preparedness Coalition (CEPI).

Funding has covered by donations to 92 participating low- and middle-income countries, while richer countries use the purchase as back-up insurance for their own vaccination programs.

Which vaccine doses will distribute

The mailing list contains 240 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum institute of India (SII). 96 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine; and 1.2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved by WHO for emergency use. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is currently in evaluation.

Both require two injection doses.

The list is non-binding and subject to change, the statement said, but countries can plan how many doses they will receive in the first round.

Over the long term, COVAX aims to provide enough vaccines for the 20% of people most at risk in participating countries by the end of 2021.

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