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Global COVID-19 vaccine supply “incredibly tight”, COVAX needs funds: Gavi – Metro US

Global COVID-19 vaccine supply “incredibly tight”, COVAX needs funds: Gavi

FILE PHOTO: People mark a container holding doses of the
FILE PHOTO: People mark a container holding doses of the AstraZeneca’s vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that arrived under the COVAX scheme, in Alajuela, on the outskirts of San Jose

GENEVA (Reuters) – The global supply of COVID-19 vaccine is “incredibly tight” and the COVAX dose-sharing facility is unlikely to procure much more supply in 2021 than doses already reserved, the Gavi vaccine alliance ceo Seth Berkley said on Thursday.

“We urgently need commitments of a further $2 billion from donors and $1 billion from countries supported by multilateral development banks. Included in the $2 billion we ask for is $150 million from the private sector,” Berkley told an event, referring to a funding target for June.

Stanley Erck, Novavax ceo, said that the U.S.-based company had vaccine production capabilities in more than 20 facilities and that it was “well on our way to securing regulatory authorisations around the world”.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Michelle Nichols in New York)