Gavi in talks with China's Sinopharm, other vaccine makers for Covax doses

‘The GAVI Vaccine Alliance is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers including China's state-owned Sinopharm to expand the COVAX pipeline and secure doses for distribution, a GAVI spokeswoman said on Monday.

‘Sinopharm received emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) last Friday, making it eligible for the COVAX programme and bolstering Beijing's push for a bigger role in inoculating the world.

‘COVAX, run jointly by GAVI and the WHO to provide doses to the world's poorest people, has hit major supply problems. To date the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) shot made by the Serum Institute of India account for most doses rolled out, but authorities there have restricted exports because of India's massive epidemic.’

Read here (Reuters, May 10, 2021)

The Bill Gates factor

‘Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has a key role in shaping the global response to the pandemic. And it’s not good news for health equality... 

‘A charitable take is that Gavi’s work, including Covax, bridges a gap – enabling the pharmaceuticals market to serve the needs of the poorest. But its model also props up that market, simultaneously bolstering an ideology of protection for intellectual property that socializes research and development risks but privatizes profits and control.

‘Intellectual property restrictions have created monopolies in both pharmaceuticals and software, crucial for the massive profits of Microsoft, where Gates made his billions. Meanwhile the Gates Foundation also has its own investments in Big Pharma, including Pfizer, and has funded organizations lobbying for industry-friendly regulations, such as the Drug Information Association and American Legislative Exchange Council.’

Read here (New Internationalist, April 26, 2021)

Coronavirus and the money behind vaccines

The FT explains how the vaccine market works – including the cost of a vaccine and the vaccine development process – and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This short documentary features global experts including Bill Gates, the CEOs of Moderna and Gavi, and the lead scientist behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. 

View here (Financial Times, Youtube, Mar 10, 2021)

UN vaccine plan is underway, but problems remain

‘As the coronavirus pandemic exploded worldwide last April, global organizations banded together to help ensure that the world’s most vulnerable people would get vaccines amid the rush for shots. The initiative known as COVAX was formed by the World Health Organization, the vaccines alliance GAVI and a coalition for epidemic innovations called CEPI.

‘COVAX is supposed to make deals to buy vaccines in bulk from drug companies and can also receive donated shots from rich countries. Poorer nations can receive free doses from the initiative — and wealthier ones can also buy from it, as a way of diversifying their supply.

‘But it has been dogged by shortages of cash and supplies as well as logistical hurdles — all while a handful of rich countries raced ahead with their vaccination campaigns.’

Read here (AP, Feb 25, 2021)

There are four types of Covid-19 vaccines: Here’s how they work

‘The fight against COVID-19 has seen vaccine development move at record speed, with more than 170 different vaccines in trials. But how are they different from each other and how will they protect us against the disease?

‘There are more vaccine candidates simultaneously in the pipeline for COVID-19 than ever before for an infectious disease. All of them are trying to achieve the same thing – immunity to the virus, and some might also be able to stop transmission. They do so by stimulating an immune response to an antigen, a molecule found on the virus. In the case of COVID-19, the antigen is typically the characteristic spike protein found on the surface of the virus, which it normally uses to help it invade human cells.

‘The four main types of Covid-19 vaccines: There are four categories of vaccines in clinical trials: (1) Whole virus, (2) Protein subunit, (3) Viral vector and (4) Nucleic acid (RNA and DNA). Some of them try to smuggle the antigen into the body, others use the body’s own cells to make the viral antigen.’

Read here (Gavi, as Jan 2021)

Watch here (Gavi, Youtube, as Jan 2021)

WHO vaccine scheme 'risks failure', leaving poor countries with no COVID-19 shots until 2024

 ‘In internal documents reviewed by Reuters, the scheme's promoters say the programme is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

"The risk of a failure to establish a successful COVAX Facility is very high," says an internal report to the board of Gavi, an alliance of governments, drug companies, charities and international organisations that arranges global vaccination campaigns. Gavi co-leads COVAX alongside the WHO.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 16, 2020)

‘The whole world is coming together’: How the race for a COVID vaccine is revolutionizing Big Pharma

‘There are few people on earth who better understand the power of vaccines—or who know more about the challenge of developing, vetting, and distributing them around the world—than [Seth] Berkley. The physician and epidemiologist presides over GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, which over the past 20 years has immunized nearly 800 million children against a host of deadly pathogens, saving millions of lives. 

‘Before becoming GAVI’s CEO in 2011, Berkley founded and led the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative—which itself was a long lesson in both perseverance and keeping one’s expectations in check. There is, after all, no vaccine yet for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, despite nearly four decades of global endeavor. Nor is there one for SARS or MERS, those two other deadly coronaviruses that have emerged in recent years—nor for Lyme disease, West Nile virus, Zika, or the common cold.

‘Yet in one striking way, the swarm of initiatives to develop vaccines against COVID is unique, says Berkley. That is in the readiness of pharmaceutical companies to stand together in one very important common cause: ensuring that when vaccines are ready, they are available to the whole world at the same time.’

Read here (Fortune, Sept 21, 2020)

Ministry: Malaysia will join Covax initiative to ensure Covid -19 vaccine acquired quickly at affordable price

‘The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) today clarified that Malaysia will be signing up for the global Covid-19 vaccine development platform Covax. The ministry in a statement today said that the government is currently discussing the terms of joining the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (Gavi), which is managing the Covax initiative.

‘Yesterday, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) today urged the government to explain why Malaysia has yet to join the Covax Vaccination Plan co-led by the World Health Organisation (WHO). MMA president Dr N. Ganabaskaran said the association believes even if Malaysia has its own bilateral negotiations for a vaccine, signing up for the Covax Vaccine Plan can be an added option that will guarantee access to vaccines for Covid-19.’

Read here (Malay Mail, Sept 19, 2020)

COVAX: Ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines

‘The WHO and other international groups, such as CEPI and GAVI, have established the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility to encourage and coordinate donations from high-income countries in order to support the distribution of vaccine doses to lower-income countries. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may not be able to purchase sufficient vaccine on their own or compete against wealthier countries to secure access to early doses without external support...

According to a GAVI press release of July 15: ‘Seventy-five countries submit expressions of interest to COVAX Facility, joining up to 90 further countries which could be supported by the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). The COVAX Facility, and the AMC within it, is designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world, rich and poor, to make rapid progress towards slowing the pandemic. Interest from governments representing more than 60% of the world’s population offers ‘tremendous vote of confidence’ in the effort to ensure truly global access to COVID-19 vaccines, once developed.’

Read here (GAVI, July 15, 2020) and here

World leaders make historic commitments to provide equal access to vaccines for all

‘The Global Vaccine Summit, hosted by the UK, raises US$ 8.8 billion from 32 donor governments and 12 foundations, corporations and organisations to immunise 300 million children and support the global fight against COVID-19. US$ 567 million also raised for new innovative financing instrument to provide access to COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. Boris Johnson: “Together we rise to fulfil the greatest shared endeavour of our lifetime – the triumph of humanity over disease, now and for the generations that follow.”

Read here (Gavi, June 4, 2020)