Covax chief warns against replay of Covid-19 vaccine nationalism in 2022

Head of a distribution facility says rich countries should avoid monopolising supplies of any shots for new variants

Covax keeping close eye on Omicron variant and impact on vaccines

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The focus for Covax next year will still be on ensuring that vaccines are rolled out as quickly as possible in countries where people lack first doses. Photo: AP

Published: 11:00am, 15 Dec 2021

A global Covid-19 vaccine programme that struggled to deliver to needy countries is finally receiving doses at a pace it hoped for months ago.

But with a new coronavirus variant raising global alarms, the pressure is on to make sure it stays that way.

“Right now, we need to avoid a type of scenario which would be ‘Vaccine nationalism 2.0’,” said Aurélia Nguyen, managing director of the Covax Facility, a partnership between the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.

Nguyen was referring to the early days of the global vaccine roll-out when wealthy countries bought more doses than they needed, pushing others to the back of the line.

It is one reason the Covax facility – launched in 2020 to help the most vulnerable populations in all countries to get vaccinated at the same time – has struggled to meet its promises and left poor countries scrambling for doses for months.

Now, as more supplies to the facility come online, Covax officials are tracking emerging data on the new and highly mutated Omicron variant.

Covax chief warns against replay of Covid-19 vaccine nationalism in 2022

Head of a distribution facility says rich countries should avoid monopolising supplies of any shots for new variants Covax keeping close eye on Omicron variant and impact on vaccines

Head of a distribution facility says rich countries should avoid monopolising supplies of any shots for new variants

Covax keeping close eye on Omicron variant and impact on vaccines