Canada donates equivalent of over 100M doses to COVAX, inching closer to 2022 target

Canada has donated the equivalent of more than 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, the vaccine sharing alliance, through both surplus doses and financial contributions.

According to Global Affairs Canada, to date 50.7 million doses deemed surplus from Canada’s procurement of AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been donated to the alliance. Of that amount, more than 14 million have actually been delivered.

Canada’s financial contributions have amounted to the equivalent of 87 million more doses. The government has made a commitment to share 200 million doses through both means by the end of 2022.

COVAX is a global initiative aimed at accelerating the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and their equitable distribution. It’s led by GAVI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization.

On April 8, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an additional $220 million to the COVAX facility, on top of the up to $800 million previously committed.

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Canada and other wealthier nations had been criticized for hoarding vaccines amid the pandemic as lower-income countries struggle to vaccinate their population with even one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

During an appearance on Monday before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, representatives from GAVI and UNICEF said while direct dose contributions are still valuable, cash donations are proving more relevant to help with infrastructure needs for rural rollout.

“COVAX’s greatest challenge is no longer supply, it is coverage. The reality is many countries are struggling with their rollouts to turn vaccines into vaccinations,” Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI, told members of Parliament.

He said the focus now should be directed at supporting countries to scale up their delivery systems and increase absorptive capacity and demand.

Lily Caprani, UNICEF’s head of advocacy and global lead for global health, vaccines and pandemic response, echoed a similar sentiment.

“It’s no good just delivering vaccines – the product themselves they need to get from the tarmac and into arms. And in order to do that we need sustained efforts to invest in health system capabilities in the lowest income countries in the world,” she said.

Both noted that the TRIPS waiver – a proposal to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics until the pandemic is over – is only part of the solution to equitable access to vaccines and it’s “questionable, whether by itself, it would have the same impact.”

Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi told reporters on Tuesday that the government has reached out to COVAX directly to offer vaccines but have been told they “don’t need them.”

“I know Minister Sajjan is actually working with countries directly to determine if there is interest. So those vaccines are available, they are there and we are doing the best that we can to offer those up,” she said.