BY ARGYLL GEDUCOS
The Philippines will join the Gavi COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility upon the approval of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The Gavi COVAX is a mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair, and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the IATF approved the participation of the Philippines in the Gavi COVAX facility, including the corresponding allocation of funds.
Gavi announced last week that 75 countries have submitted expressions of interest to protect their populations and those of other nations through joining the COVAX Facility.
The 75 countries, which would finance the vaccines from their own public finance budgets, partner with up to 90 lower-income countries that could be supported through voluntary donations to Gavi’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
Among the group are representatives from every continent and more than half of the world’s G20 economies.
COVAX aims to deliver two billion doses of safe, effective vaccines that have passed regulatory approval and/or World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification by the end of 2021.
In a statement, Gavi said that the vaccines will be delivered equally to all participating countries, proportional to their populations, initially prioritizing healthcare workers then expanding to cover 20 percent of the population of participating countries. (Argyll Geducos)
