Moderna to supply 500 million vaccine doses to WHO’s struggling Covax initiative
By Emily Rauhala and Erin Cunningham,
Cole Burston The Canadian Press/AP
Moderna will supply up to 500 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to a campaign backed by the World Health Organization starting late this year, giving a much-needed boost to a global initiative that has suffered from inequity, funding shortfalls and a severe supply crunch.
The agreement, announced Monday soon after the WHO approved the company’s messenger RNA vaccine for emergency use, comes amid growing calls for both vaccine-makers and wealthy nations to do more to address the vaccination gap between rich countries and the rest of the world.
Following announcements from New Zealand and France, the United States said last week that it will share up to 60 million doses with other countries under as-yet-unknown terms. On Monday, Sweden said it will give 1 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the WHO’s Covax effort to “help address immediate-term supply delays.”
The news comes as U.S. officials remain split over how to vaccinate the world, with some urging the White House to back an international proposal to waive drug company patents for coronavirus vaccines.
The Moderna deal is good news for vaccine access but comes relatively late. The two-dose vaccine demonstrated a 94.1 percent efficacy rate in clinical trials, one of the highest of all the vaccines in use. It has also shown high effectiveness against new variants, particularly the one first detected in Britain.
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Richer countries fare better in vaccine rollout
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However, the deal will do little to alleviate short- and medium-term supply concerns. Under the agreement, the company will work with Covax to supply 34 million doses at its “lowest tiered price” by the end of 2021, with the option for 466 million shots available in 2022.
Cecilia Fabiano
LaPresse /AP
Medical staffers administer Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine in Rome on April 14, 2021.
Though such countries as Israel, the United States and Britain are beginning to see the benefits of mass vaccination campaigns, most others are still trying to secure enough vaccine doses. Researchers at Duke University predict that some countries will be waiting until 2023.
Covax aims to distribute up to 2 billion doses this year, with an eye toward reaching 20 percent of the population in participating low- and middle-income countries. To date, it has delivered 49 million doses.
The effort has been hit by the dramatic coronavirus surge in India. Covax is heavily reliant on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, particularly doses manufactured by India’s Serum Institute. As India’s coronavirus death toll has climbed, exports have all but ceased. Covax knows it needs to diversify its vaccine portfolio, but the limited supply of messenger RNA vaccines and temporary halts on the use of other vaccines have made that tough.
On Monday, Denmark removed the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot from its vaccination program to investigate reports of rare blood clots, the Associated Press reported, unnerving other countries and renewing questions about Covax’s vaccine portfolio. The country had earlier discontinued the AstraZeneca shot for the same reason.
[India’s coronavirus surge creates vaccine supply turmoil far beyond its borders]
In recent months, public health advocates have urged the United States to do more to force Moderna to share its vaccine, which was developed and manufactured with significant U.S. government support.
The company also received early funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a foundation that is leading Covax alongside the WHO and Gavi, a vaccine alliance. Accepting the grant, Moderna agreed to uphold “equitable access principles.”
Monday’s agreement brings Moderna closer in line with such competitors as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which have already delivered doses to Covax.
“This is an important milestone as we work to ensure that people around the world have access to our COVID-19 vaccine,” Moderna chief executive Stéphane Bancel said in a news release.
“We are very pleased to sign this new agreement with Moderna, giving COVAX Facility participants access to yet another highly efficacious vaccine,” Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, said in a news release.
“Expanding and having a diverse portfolio has always been a core goal for COVAX, and to remain adaptable in the face of this continually evolving pandemic — including the rising threat posed by new variants,” he continued. “This agreement is a further step in that direction.”
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