Vaccine hoarding threatens global supply via COVAX: WHO

WHO chief urges countries to waive intellectual property rules, to allow others to make vaccines more quickly.

Countries seeking their own COVID-19 vaccine doses are making deals with drug companies that threaten the supply for the global COVAX programme for poor and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “Now, some countries are still pursuing deals that will compromise the COVAX supply. Without a doubt,” WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward told a briefing. The WHO has long called upon rich countries to ensure that vaccines are shared equitably. The global organisation is one of the leaders of COVAX, a programme that aims to supply 1.3 billion vaccine doses to poor and middle-income countries this year. But so far, COVAX has had a slow roll-out.