Trudeau to join global fundraiser for vaccine

OTTAWA—The prospect of tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses rolling out as early as this fall is being tempered by warnings to ensure they are shared fairly across the globe, especially in the poorest countries.

The caution comes as Britain is set to host an international pledging conference Thursday that aims to raise almost $10 billion for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, the leading agency for distributing other vaccines to less-developed countries.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join leaders from 50 countries and major organizations. Canada has already announced its five-year, $600million pledge to GAVI.

In an address Wednesday to a summit of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, Trudeau said Canada is committed to helping developing countries, hardest hit by the pandemic.

That will include ensuring any new vaccine is distributed to poor countries, and avoiding past practice, notably the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, that saw the wealthiest buyers get it first.

“It’s also to send a clear message to the market that there will be a market for this in the developing world, and there will be an organization that can distribute this vaccine,” International Development Minister Karina Gould said in an interview Wednesday.

“What’s different about this pandemic is we’re talking about the whole world getting vaccinated. It’s on a scale that we haven’t imagined before.”