#TeamEurope supports COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution to Rwanda
#TeamEurope (EU and Member States) welcomes the announcement by Gavi on the first delivery of vaccines via the COVAX facility. Rwanda will receive a first 1.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the first quarter of 2021.
#Team Europe has substantially contributed to the COVAX facility, pledging over €850 million to help secure 1.3 billion doses of vaccination for 92 low and middle-income countries, including Rwanda.
By the end of February, Rwanda is expected to receive 996,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine and 102,960 of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Team Europe commends Rwanda for its preparedness to receive the vaccines, including the required setting up and management of the ultra-cold chain.
EU Ambassador Nicola Bellomo said; “This is a visible demonstration of our engagement to support equal and global access to a safe and efficient vaccine for everyone in the world. No region of the world is safe until we are all safe COVAX is and remains the best vehicle to ensure international vaccine solidarity and will be key to help end the acute phase of the pandemic.”
The EU has been leading efforts to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of vaccines against COVID-19 internally, and has been a key initiator of the global framework, together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international health organizations, to accelerate the research and development of COVID-19-vaccines, tests and treatments and a top contributor from the start to COVAX.
The COVAX Facility – co-led by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO – aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. All COVAX participant countries will receive individual allocations of vaccine doses totalling 147 million doses by June 2021. By the end of the year, COVAX has already secured 1.6 million doses and expects to increase this number to reach 2.3 billion.
