10 million doses for Covax

China to meet developing countries’ needs at WHO’s request

BEIJING: China says it will provide 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the global vaccine sharing initiative Covax to meet the urgent needs of developing countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing on Wednesay that China was responding to a request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) as developing countries seek to make up for vaccine shortages.

WHO had started to review the authorisation for emergency use of the Chinese vaccines, Wang said, adding that Chinese enterprises would continue to cooperate actively and that he hoped the review process would be completed as soon as possible.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said in January that there needed to be a “collective commitment” within the next 100 days to get vaccinations underway worldwide for health workers and others who were at high risk of contracting Covid-19.

China attached great importance to Tedros’ appeal and the difficulties facing the practical implementation of the Covax initiative, in particular the huge vaccine supply gap in February and March, Wang said.

“It is another important step taken by China to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines, promote international anti-pandemic cooperation and uphold the concept of a shared community of health for all,” he said.

The WHO-led Covax initiative aims to secure at least two billion doses by the end of 2021 and ensure equitable access for 92 low and middle-income countries that cannot afford to pay for vital supplies on their own. China joined the initiative in October.

“We hope capable countries will swing into action, support Covax through concrete actions, back WHO’s work, assist developing countries in obtaining vaccines in a timely manner and contribute to the international community overcoming the pandemic at an early date,” Wang said. — China Daily/ ANN