Vaccine diplomacy: European Union to donate 100 million doses via Covax

BRUSSELS.- The The European Union announced today that it will donate at least 100 million coronavirus vaccines to poor countries by the end of this year., after pressing the World Health Organization (WHO) to rich countries to distribute their excess doses.

“The EU and the Member States commit to accelerate vaccine delivery to support countries in need, with the aim of giving at least 100 million doses by the end of the year and to contribute to the development of local capacities of manufacture of vaccines, indicated the leaders in the text agreed at a summit in Brussels .

The agreement between the leaders of the 27 nations that make up the bloc is a new effort “Increase global vaccine production capacity to meet global demand”, in a global scenario of unequal access to medicines.

In this sense, they pledged to “intensify efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines” and ratified their support for the “leadership role” of the plan. Covax of United Nations (UN) which provides vaccines to low-income countries that have difficulty obtaining them.

In recent weeks, several countries have announced large donations. Germany Yes France, for example, guaranteed that they will deliver 30 million doses each, while Spain announced in April that it planned to send 7.5 million to Latin America.

Almost half of Europeans, 46%, or 170 million people, have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to data presented to presidents by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

In all Member States, 245 million doses since the start of the vaccination campaign in December of last year.

Although vaccination campaigns are progressing in the West, vaccines are scarce in poor countries. Last week, during a meeting on issues related to the pandemic, the Italian Prime Minister Mario draghi reported that nearly 1.5 billion doses have been applied in more than 180 countries. However, only 0.3% of them were in low-income countries.

At the summit, he also agreed to launch the certificate that facilitates travel to vaccinated Europeans, have antibodies or have a negative test, facing the reopening of tourism in summer.

Thus, they welcomed the development of the “European Covid digital certificate” and called for its “rapid implementation”.

Telam and AP agencies

THE NATION