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The World Health Organization said on Friday it had reached an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and should be able to start delivering vaccines to poor and lower-middle income countries next month under its own COVAX programme.
Pfizer’s vaccine is up to now the only one which has WHO emergency approval.
“In this world we’re as protected as our neighbour,” said Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla, officially announcing the deal that Reuters reported on Thursday.
Bourla said the 40 million doses, a fraction of the company’s total 2021 production estimate of two billion, would be sold to a non-profit foundation. He described it as an initial agreement, also said more doses could be supplied through the COVAX programme in future.
The deal comes amid growing criticism of vaccine inequity from both the WHO and other people as wealthy nations inoculate millions of people using shots procured through bilateral deals.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the new agreement with Pfizer should allow vaccinations to start in February for health workers, although details of supply arrangements are still being finalised.
He said he hoped that the agreement would also encourage other nations to donate more of their Pfizer shots to encourage rapid roll-out, like Norway has.
“The commitment of the (United States) to combine COVAX, with this new agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech, mean that we are closer to fulfilling the promise of COVAX,” he said.
US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Thursday the United States intended to join the facility. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had halted funds to the Geneva-based body and declared a withdrawal process.
The WHO said earlier this week it planned to deliver 135 million vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, without giving a breakdown by provider.
GAVI’s CEO Seth Berkley said in the same briefing that countries would get dose estimates for the first part of the year in about a week’s time.
