100m extra vaccine doses for poorer countries

Up to 100 million additional doses of any eventual COVID-19 vaccines will be secured for delivery to poorer countries in 2021, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced on Tuesday. The announcement doubles the number of doses already secured from the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, by Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, following an initial agreement last month. “This brings the total number of vaccine doses to be covered by the partnership between SII, Gavi, and the Gates Foundation to an aggregate of up to 200 million doses,” Gavi said in a statement. It stressed that the agreement “provides an option to secure additional doses, potentially several times the 200 million dose total,” if needed, adding that the vaccines will have a ceiling price of $3 per dose.