Selangor Journal
A logo of the World Health Organization (WHO), is seen before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 25, 2020. — Picture by REUTERS

Covax open to all approved Covid-19 vaccines

GENEVA, June 25 — The Covax vaccine-sharing scheme will add any coronavirus shot to its toolbox as long as it has been approved by the World Health Organisation or a national drug regulator, the Gavi vaccine alliance told Sputnik on Thursday.

“Covax will consider procuring vaccines that complement the portfolio from any producer in the world, once they have received approval from a stringent regulatory authority and/or prequalification by the WHO,” the Geneva-based alliance said.

It added that Covax continued to negotiate with other suppliers and expected to announce further advance purchases shortly.

Gavi signed two advance purchase deals with US pharma companies Moderna and Novavax in May for a total of 850 million doses due to arrive in 2021 and 2022.

Konstantin Chernov, the head of the Chumakov Centre, said on Thursday that the Russian research facility had offered its inactivated virus-based CoviVac shot to Covax. It plans to apply for prequalification this fall, once the third stage of clinical trials is cleared.

The Covax facility has been established to even out the playing field by providing access to diagnostics, treatment and vaccines against the disease to low- and middle-income countries. Covax aims to ship close to 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021, in an unprecedented global effort to guarantee access to vaccines for all.

— Bernama

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