COVAX has made recommendations to make Covid vaccine allocation fairer and more effective
Geneva, Switzerland:
Amid a potential need for variant-specific vaccines, changes in vaccination policy, country preference for some products over others, the programmatic complexity of managing multiple products, and the need for better information on planning and execution at the country level, COVAX has set a target on Thursday to achieve 70 percent COVID-19 vaccination coverage by mid-2022.
COVAX’s Independent Allocation of Vaccines Group (IAVG) has made a series of recommendations to make the allocation of COVID-19 vaccines more equitable and effective, read IAVG’s statement.
The group was formed a year ago to validate and review vaccine allocations recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gavi’s Joint Allocation Taskforce (JAT) of COVAX. A lot has changed since then.
It was envisioned that COVAX would be the world’s premier distributor of COVID-19 vaccines, with IAVG acting as an independent arbiter for needs-based allocations.
But rich countries largely evaded COVAX, hoarding doses for their own populations and making deals directly with low- and middle-income countries. This has made subsequent allocation decisions even more challenging.
In addition, the IAVG is concerned that the primary use of available vaccines is not in line with the goals set out in the strategy to achieve global COVID-19 vaccination by mid-2022 by October 2021.
The group also noted that it has validated the allocation of just 730 million of the estimated 8 billion doses of vaccine administered worldwide, which is less than 10 percent.
The IAVG therefore calls for achieving 70 percent coverage with COVID-19 vaccines in all countries as a global obligation.
As total vaccine delivery to COVAX is expected to continue to grow significantly next year, COVAX will have a greater chance of contributing to achieving this goal, read the statement.
Manufacturers, vaccine-producing countries and high-coverage countries must prioritize vaccine equality and transparency, including sharing information about production capacity and delivery schedules with COVAX, as well as plans for vaccine access.
All countries are working with COVAX with great urgency to optimize the strategic deployment of the growing vaccine supply.
This means that high-coverage countries need to develop additional, “two-track” approaches that take into account both domestic and international targets, read the statement.
It also emphasized greater focus on who gets vaccinated and equality as the overarching principle, and priority in all countries to ensure that the primary series is offered primarily to all adults and adolescents, in the step-by-step manner recommended by the WHO, as these populations still require primary immunization.
However, as more is known about the required vaccination response in light of Omicron, the need for booster doses and the need to immunize children, decisions about COVAX vaccine assignment should take these recommendations into account, the statement added.
The rapid emergence of the Omicron variant is a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforces the critical need to achieve high levels of immunization coverage in all countries, including highly vulnerable populations. . manner.
Given the global health and epidemiological consequences of failing to immunize vulnerable populations, including those in humanitarian settings, the IAVG recommends that COVAX continue to work with all manufacturers and countries to immediately increase the availability and use of vaccines in these populations.
All countries must have a steady, predictable supply of COVID-19 vaccines that meet the unique needs of each country. Attention should be paid to addressing prohibitive absorption problems in countries requesting support. This may include support for the storage, distribution, administration and/or registration of vaccines, which may be due in part to competing health and immunization crises, the statement said.
IAVG also called for close cooperation between all COVAX partners, donors and participants.
Increasing demand for COVID-19 vaccines will require ongoing, coordinated global, national and local leadership to address vaccine misinformation, the statement said.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
