Some EU states have expressed interest in joining COVAX but have not yet registered.
Brussels:
The European Union is not interested in purchasing potential COVID-19 vaccines under an initiative co-led by the World Health Organization because it deems it slow and expensive, two sources said. from the EU to Reuters, noting that the bloc was in talks with drugmakers for injections. cheaper than $ 40.
The position shows that the EU has only partially taken a comprehensive approach in the COVID-19 vaccine race because, although it is one of the main supporters of equitable access initiatives globally, it prefers to give priority to supplies for the EU population.
It could also be a blow to the WHO-led COVAX initiative to ensure vaccines for all.
“Using COVAX would lead to higher prices and subsequent supplies,” one of the officials said.
The COVAX mechanism to buy vaccines in advance is targeting a price of $ 40 for COVID vaccines for rich countries, the official said, adding that the EU could buy cheaper with its own program. initial purchase.
A spokeswoman for GAVI, a public-private vaccine alliance that also co-leads the COVAX initiative, declined to comment on the $ 40 target, saying it was impossible at this point to predict the exact price of future doses. .
“Any pricing structure will need to reflect (the) risky investments in R&D and manufacturing needed, as well as meet expectations that any vaccines will be made available during the acute phase of the pandemic as a global good,” she declared.
WHO made no immediate comment.
On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNtech said the U.S. government had agreed to pay nearly $ 2 billion to secure their potential COVID-19 vaccine which, if successful, would be used to vaccinate 50 million people at a price of ‘about $ 40 per person.
The EU is currently in talks with several drugmakers to secure their potential coronavirus vaccines in advance, officials told Reuters last week.
These possible deals would be funded with around € 2 billion ($ 2.3 billion) from an EU rainy day fund known as the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), said officials.
The EU also wants to secure vaccines by the end of the year, if they are available. This timeline “is not achievable” for COVAX, an official said.
Parallel tracks
The European Commission, which is the bloc’s executive arm and leads the EU’s negotiations with drugmakers, has advised EU states to join COVAX if they wish, but not to buy vaccines, has declared the responsible. A Commission spokesperson declined to comment.
One official said joining the two initiatives might not be legally possible, as EU states agreed to an exclusivity clause when they supported the EU’s advance purchase program.
Some EU states have expressed interest in joining COVAX but have not yet registered.
The EU has been a strong supporter of global initiatives to ensure vaccines for all. He has promoted two global fundraising campaigns that have so far raised nearly $ 19 billion, three-quarters of which came from states and EU institutions, to help develop COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring equitable access.
However, taken aback by the measures taken by the United States to obtain potential vaccines and drugs, the EU has recently played a more assertive role in the global race.
If COVID-19 vaccines prove effective in trials, they are unlikely to be immediately available in large quantities. Buying them for the EU population could thus temporarily deprive the poorest countries of doses.
The official said, however, that the two routes for purchasing vaccines remained complementary, but added, “budgets are limited”.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
