Pfizer supplies up to 40 million doses to the WHO-supported global Covid vaccination program

Pfizer will deliver up to 40 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to a global alliance that aims to provide coronavirus vaccines to poor nations, the World Health Organization head said Friday.

The agreement will enable Covax – together with the WHO – to deliver vaccine doses to the participating countries from February, said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference.

The Covax program aims to provide 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to participating countries, which include low- to middle-income countries, by the end of this year. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine requires two vaccinations spaced weeks apart, suggesting the deal would only cover 20 million people.

Tedros said the deal would allow other countries with supplies of Pfizer’s vaccine to donate them to the program. The WHO chief did was critical of rich nations who have signed supply agreements with drug manufacturers for their starting doses of Covid-19 vaccines to stockpile supplies from poorer countries.

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said during the press conference that the company will make the vaccine doses available to Covax and poorer countries for a fee. Pfizer was the first company to receive a global emergency listing for the WHO vaccine, which allows other countries to expedite their regulatory approval processes to begin administering the vaccine.

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