|
 That amounts to up to 100 million vaccine doses by the end of 2021,
it said.
COVAX is the programme backed by the World Health Organization and
GAVI vaccine alliance to provide vaccines for poor and middle-income
countries. So far, 31 million doses have been delivered to 57
economies, although the rates trail behind wealthier countries,
revealing inequity that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus described this week as "grotesque".
GAVI said that the reserve doses would be used in areas where there
were "unavoidable gaps in coverage", such as conflict zones and
areas controlled by armed groups inaccessible to governments.
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 "As we have started the rollout
of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to
COVAX economies, it is essential to also protect
high-risk groups caught in crisis settings,"
said Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI.
The contingency doses could also be used as part
of an "emergency release" to quell severe
outbreaks of COVID-19 where regular vaccine
allocation timelines are insufficient, it said.
Those doses will only, however, be available
once all COVAX participants have received their
early doses.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Alex
Richardson)
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