Advertisement

Updated January 24th, 2021 at 17:58 IST

WHO secures 40 million COVID-19 doses for poorer nations, announces chief Tedros

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom has said that his agency’s COVAX scheme has reached an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
WHO
| Image:self
Advertisement

As the global COVID-19 infections are nearing a grim milestone of 100 million cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that his agency’s COVAX scheme has reached an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for poorer countries. Further, assuming WHO clearances, he informed that 150 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered in the first quarter of 2021 under COVAX assuming WHO safety clearances. 

WHO chief said, “That’s why today I’m glad to announce that COVAX has signed an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for up to 40 million doses of its vaccine. Additionally, pending WHO emergency use listing, we expect almost 150 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to be available for distribution by COVAX in the first quarter of this year.”

The WHO secretary-general also said that both announcements together mean that under COVAX initiative the vaccinations will begin delivering in February if the UN health agency can finalise a supply agreement for the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech along with emergency use listing for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine candidate. By the end of this year, WHO-backed COVAX initiative, he said, is on track to deliver at least two billion doses. 

He said, “COVAX is on track to deliver 2 billion doses by the end of this year. This agreement also opens the door for countries who are willing to share doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to donate them to COVAX and support rapid rollout.”

Read - 'Very Grateful': French Envoy Thanks India For Shipping COVID Vaccines To Fight Pandemic

Read - Atmanirbhar Bharat Vision Fulfillment: Minister On Vaccines

Coronavirus Infections Close To Grim 100 Million Mark

The global coronavirus toll hit another grim milestone on January 23 as it reached nearly the 100 million infections mark, according to the world virus tracker. As many as 2.1 million fatalities have been recorded globally since the pandemic hit. The US remains the hardest impacted nation with 25,566,789 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, and 427,635 deaths. The newly sworn-in Joe Biden's administration sprang to action after President signed executive orders mandating measures critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Read - COVID-19 Vaccine Research Could Lead To Drugs Against HIV And Cancer: Report

Read - Sri Lanka To Receive COVID-19 Vaccines From India Next Week: President

Advertisement

Published January 24th, 2021 at 17:58 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli
a few seconds ago
Congress Press Conference
a minute ago
Virat Kohli's text to RCB owners got WPL team to unbox event
3 minutes ago
Pakistan and the IMF agree on a $1.1 billion disbursement for the debt-ridden economy.
3 minutes ago
Millet
7 minutes ago
Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE
13 minutes ago
IndiGo direct flight between Mumbai and Ayodhya
17 minutes ago
former dsp shailendra singh revealed criminal activity of Mukhtar Ansari
19 minutes ago
IBL Finance IPO
23 minutes ago
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
27 minutes ago
RBI
37 minutes ago
TCS 'cash for jobs' scam
44 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo