WHO Warns Countries Against Concluding Bilateral Vaccine Deals That Could Harm COVAX

WHO Warns Countries Against Concluding Bilateral Vaccine Deals That Could Harm COVAX

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge warned on Thursday against concluding bilateral vaccine deals that could harm the COVAX global coronavirus vaccine distribution facility

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge warned on Thursday against concluding bilateral vaccine deals that could harm the COVAX global coronavirus vaccine distribution facility.

"The COVAX mechanism is the only global mechanism to equalize access to vaccines between countries. So what we would like to avoid, obviously, any bilateral deals that hurt or are a setback to the COVAX facility, which is now starting to deliver all over the world," Kluge said at a WHO briefing.

COVAX aims to ship close to 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021. It has recently started a roll-out of Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines and is looking to add more to its portfolio.