Coronavirus: arrival of COVAX system vaccines in danger due to wave of infections in India

the coronavirus and its new variants do not give respite to countries vaccine producers. India, the United States and England are clear examples. For the third time in a week, the Asian country broke the record COVID-19 case, registration more than 230,000 per day. A total of 15.1 million people have been infected since the start of the pandemic and 179,000 have died from SARS-CoV-2.

The India It is the second country most affected by the pandemic, behind the United States, and is mired in a dizzying second wave with daily infection records. For this reason, they decided suspend export antidotes, which will impact Argentina and more than 172 countries who have signed an agreement with Covax o Global Access Fund for COVID-19 vaccines.

We must not forget that the Asian country is the largest vaccine producer of the world, across Serum Institute, which manufactures the British organic product AstraZeneca for the system Covax, which aims to guarantee an equitable distribution to 92 poor countries. However, under the current agreement, 100 million vaccines were to be delivered between February and May, but only 35 million. Agree with DW, it’s expected that Serum Institute resumes supply in June, although nothing is assured.

// New record of coronavirus cases and deaths in India amid restrictions

About, Raimund Zühr, a consultant on development and global health issues, said in a dialogue with the information network DW: “The main impact (of the suspension of the export of antidotes made in India) will be that the vaccines will arrive later to participating Covax countries. This is serious because it means that more people will die (for the coronavirus). The current agreement provides that of some 100 million doses that could have arrived between February and March, only 35 million have been sent so far, much less than expected ”.

In this sense, the specialist revealed that the Serum Institute forecasts that Covax supply will resume just in june. “Maybe it was before, but it’s still not clear. For the moment, Covax has no doubts that this delay will have an impact on its overall supply target. two billion vaccines this year to the whole world. This delay is causing a lot of concern, but it should not be forgotten that India is facing a contagion wave for the pandemic. From a political point of view, it is obvious that the Indian government aims to ensure that the antidotes reach its people as quickly as possible. Rich countries are doing exactly the same, ”explained the specialist.

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Zühr recalled that the Serum Institute is the most important supplier of Covax, But he is not the only one. In this sense, he declared: “We expect in the medium term that half of the doses of this year will come from other producers vaccines. Second, countries have the option of signing bilateral treaties with other producers, such as Russia Yes China. However, many of them do not have the necessary financial resources. Third, it is expected that in the coming months, rich countries give part of the remaining doses to the poorer nations via Covax or directly. The main cause of these problems is vaccine nationalism. Many rich countries have bought more doses than they really need. As a result, Covax has a harder time getting the antidotes he needs. “

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For him, the support of rich countries Covax is still not enough: “They could help by showing more political leadership and international solidarityas well as giving more money to Covax, which needs around $ 2 billion to fund the vaccine supply. The government of Sweden, for example, has approved around 160 million euros for Covax and other countries are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks, notably at the conference scheduled for June and hosted by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. And beyond funds, rich countries can to give the sooner the more doses are left. People in poor countries need antidotes now, not six months or next year. And finally, it is not a question of money but of political will and international solidarity», He concluded.