‘Majority of 80mn jabs to be routed via Covax’

NEW DELHI: A substantial part of the 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to be donated by the US will be rolled out through the WHObacked Covax facility, though country-specific allocations are yet to be made, President Joe Biden’s pointperson for the global pandemic response said on Wednesday. Gayle Smith, the coordinator for the global Covid-19 response at the US state department, said the efforts of the US administration are focused on covering gaps in three areas - dose-sharing, increasing the supply of vaccines, and financing for the Covax facility. Biden announced on Monday the US will share 20 million doses from its surplus stocks of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the end of June. “We intend that the allocation of the vaccines will include a substantial portion through Covax, but we have not made final decisions,” Smith, a former USAID director said.