The European Commission said it would contribute 400 million euros ($476 million) to an initiative led by the World Health Organization to buy COVID-19 vaccines, but did not clarify whether EU states would acquire shots through the WHO scheme.
The initiative, dubbed COVAX, aims to purchase for all countries in the world 2 billion doses of potential COVID-19 shots from several vaccine makers by the end of 2021.
The EU financial support will be provided through guarantees, the Commission said. A spokeswoman for the EU executive did not clarify how these guarantees would be offered and why they were preferred to direct funding in cash.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Global collaboration is the only way to overcome a global pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Global Response and the Global Goal Unite campaign, we have seen the world come together as one. Almost €16 billion have been pledged so far and the most talented researchers and organisations are pooling their efforts to deliver vaccines, tests and treatments, which will be our universal, common good. Today, the Commission is announcing a €400 million contribution to COVAX for working together in purchasing future vaccines to the benefit of low and middle income countries. I’m confident this will bring us closer to our goal: beating this virus, together.”
The EU Commission is negotiating advance purchases of COVID-19 vaccines with several drugmakers on behalf of the 27 EU states and has said in past weeks EU governments cannot buy vaccines through parallel procurement schemes.
Asked whether its guidance to EU states not to buy vaccines through COVAX was now dropped, a commission spokeswoman declined to elaborate. “The detailed terms and conditions for the EU’s participation and contribution will be worked out in the coming days and weeks,” the Commission said.
The Commission added in a statement that it was ready, together with EU states, “to put expertise and resources at work within COVAX to accelerate and scale-up development and manufacturing of a global supply of vaccines for citizens across the world, in poor and rich countries.”
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “It is only by working together globally, in solidarity, that we can defeat the coronavirus. We need an inclusive international approach and as we are showing today, Team Europe – European Commission and EU Member States – is committed to ensuring the success of the COVAX Facility and facilitating access to a vaccine in an equitable manner for all people across the world.”
Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International partnerships, said: “Only by securing equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine across the world will we end the pandemic and ensure a sustainable recovery; working with our partner countries is crucial so that we can build back better and healthier.”
Critics have said that by buying vaccines exclusively through an EU scheme, the Commission was effectively undermining the WHO-led initiative.
The Commission said it was committed to donating to developing countries some of the vaccines it buys through its procurement scheme.
Reuters / European Commission
