Browsing: Duke Global Health Innovation

Kimani Chege East Africa to miss out on first Covid 19 vaccine

There are jitters among less developed countries as news of a potential vaccine candidate for Covid-19 was announced by Pfizer and BioNTech showing desirable traits.

Most of the East African countries have signed up to be part of an arrangement by global countries to ensure fair distribution of any Covid-19 vaccine that might come out of the labs. However, reports are emerging that rich countries are already negotiating directly with the pharmaceutical companies to get the first service leaving over a hundred countries in despair.

The arrangement is called COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) initiative. It is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. As of 1 October, 167 countries have signed up, covering nearly two-thirds of the global population. More have expressed interest, according to Gavi.

A new study by US-based Duke Global Health Innovation Center shows …