Gobal vaccine scheme to be shaken up

BRUSSELS — Shunned by rich countries and failing to meet the needs of the poorest, a program co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO) for fair distribution of COVID19 vaccines is planning a shake-up, internal documents seen by Reuters show.

The COVAX program is far short of its target of delivering two billion doses by the end of the year. So far, it has distributed a mere 90 million vaccines.

Some of the poorest countries have vaccinated less than one per cent of their populations, according to estimates from Gavi, a global vaccine alliance that runs the scheme with the WHO.

The overhaul is meant to reduce COVAX’s financial risks, increase its focus on the countries most in need and reduce the participation of richer countries as both donors and recipients, according to a paper prepared by Gavi.

The document is expected to be adopted at a Gavi board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.