WHO Aims for 2 Billion COVID-19 Vaccine Doses by End of 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled a plan to deliver 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2021, but says it needs almost $28 billion to help fund the initiative, which also includes therapeutics and diagnostics.

Under its Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative, the WHO is working alongside the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to ramp up research and manufacturing, and to purchase vaccines in advance.

According to the latest WHO data, there are 16 vaccine candidates being tested in humans around the world and 125 others in preclinical studies.

On the therapeutics side, the WHO is partnering with the UK’s Wellcome Trust, a research charity, and UNITAID, an international health initiative, to develop coronavirus therapeutics and to ensure 245 million courses of treatment for low- and middle-income countries by mid-2021.

Read the ACT Accelerator outline here: www.fdanews.com/06-26-20-ACTAcceleratorinvestmentcase.pdf. — James Miessler