UNICEF urges G7 countries to donate excess supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to global COVAX sharing scheme

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF has requested G7 countries to donate excess supplies of COVID-19 vaccines to the global COVAX sharing scheme. This is part of an emergency measure to address a severe shortfall following a halt on exports from India due to the second wave of the pandemic.

UNICEF is in charge of supplying COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX. It estimates the supply shortfall will reach 140 million doses by the end of May and about 190 million by June-end. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, said sharing immediately available excess doses is a minimum, essential and emergency stop-gap measure, and it is needed right now. Fore said the move could help prevent vulnerable countries from becoming the next global hotspot.

COVAX, run jointly by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance, relies heavily on the AstraZeneca shot, which amounts for the bulk of the vaccines earmarked for early rollout as it seeks to provide two billion doses this year.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the moral catastrophe of vaccine inequality, urging wealth countries to donate doses rather than use them for children who are less vulnerable to severe disease. A number of countries, including the United States and Canada, in recent weeks have authorized vaccines for those aged 12 and above. The UNICEF chief said G7 countries could donate about 153 million doses if they shared only 20% of their available supply over June, July and August.

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Antonio Guterres, United Nations General Secretary, last week called for the need to double the capacity of COVID-19 vaccine production. He also highlighted the need for fairer redistribution of the shots in the developing world. “It is totally unacceptable to live in a world, in which developed countries can vaccinate most of its population, while many developing countries don’t have access to one single dose,” Guterres said. “It’s in the interest that everybody is vaccinated everywhere. We believe that we need two things – to double the world’s capacity of production of vaccines and at the same time to have a more equitable distribution of vaccines.”