A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a “Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
GENEVA — The COVAX vaccine-sharing facility urgently needs 190 million doses by the end of June to fill a gap left by India halting vaccine exports, as the virus surges in South Asia, the GAVI vaccine alliance and World Health Organization said on Thursday.
“We need an additional $2 billion to lift coverage in (advance market countries) up to nearly 30%, and we need it by June 2 to lock in supplies now so that doses can be delivered through 2021, and into early 2022,” they said in a statement.
“At least one billion doses could be shared by wealthy countries in 2021,” it said.