Covid 19 coronavirus: Supply delays for UN vaccine programme

Uganda's first consignment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, provided through the global Covax, arrives at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda. Photo / Nicholas Bamulanzeki, AP

The United Nations-backed programme to ship Covid-19 vaccines worldwide has announced supply delays for up to 90 million doses from an Indian manufacturer, in a major setback for the ambitious rollout aimed to help low- and middle-income countries fight the pandemic.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said Thursday that the delays come as India is facing a surge of coronavirus infections that will increase domestic demands on the Serum Institute of India, a pivotal vaccine maker behind the Covax programme.

"Delays in securing supplies of SII-produced Covid-19 vaccine doses are due to the increased demand for Covid-19 vaccines in India," Gavi said.

Military personnel unload the first doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine allocated through Covax at the military airport in El Alto, Bolivia, on March 21. Photo / Juan Karita, AP

The move will affect up to 40 million doses of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccines being manufactured by the Serum Institute that were to be delivered for Covax this month, as well as 50 million expected next month. Gavi said it has notified recipient countries.

The institute has been contracted to supply vaccines to 64 countries, and Gavi said the UN-backed programme has "notified all affected economies of potential delays".

BREAKING—due to surging #COVID19 cases, India 🇮🇳 has frozen all major exports of AstraZeneca #COVIDVaccine made by Serum Institute of India, world’s biggest vaccine-maker, to meet domestic demand as infections rise. This will also delay supplies to COVAX.https://t.co/h2bB25EA12

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 24, 2021

Gavi said the Serum institute has pledged that "alongside supplying India, it will prioritise the Covax multilateral solution for equitable distribution."'

Gavi, which runs Covax jointly with the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has already distributed 31 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine — 28 million from the Serum Institute and another 3 million from a South Korean contractor also producing the vaccine.

The programme had been aiming to deliver some 237 million AstraZeneca vaccines through the end of May. A Gavi spokesman said the delays were not expected to affect the goal of shipping some 2 billion doses worldwide through Covax by the end of the year.

Covax has so far shipped vaccines to 50 countries and territories. - AP