Year: 2021

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Tuesday, May 25, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 5.93 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.82 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 959.6 million Low-income country total: 270.2 million COVAX total: 1.96 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 10.9 billion doses INSIGHTS The G20 Pledge Drive Author: Andrea Talor The G20 met today in Rome for a Global Health Summit and vaccine equity was at the top of the agenda. According to Reuters, the resulting “Rome Declaration” calls for voluntary licensing and technology transfers to increase production of Covid-19 vaccines globally. The declaration also reportedly mentioned the important role of the ACT-Accelerator (of which COVAX is one pillar) but did not commit to funding it (the ACT-Accelerator still needs $19 billion to reach its goal). A flurry pledges were made…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, April 23, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.7 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 732 million Low-income country total: 770 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.9 billion doses INSIGHTS What have we learned in one year of COVAX? Author: Andrea Taylor Launched as a global cross-organization collaboration only one month after the pandemic was declared, COVAX was built to facilitate global equity in the pandemic response. As COVAX passes the one-year mark this month, there are some early lessons and insights that can inform its further development and help us prepare for future crises. In terms of numbers, COVAX is short of the mark. Photo ops of government officials on the tarmac to…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, April 9, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 721 million Low-income country total: 770 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.8 billion doses WEEKLY INSIGHTS Will chicken eggs change the Covid-19 vaccine landscape? Author: Andrea Taylor A promising new vaccine candidate is getting a flurry of attention this week, even in a very crowded landscape that includes 11 vaccines on the market and 50+ more in Phase 2 or 3 trials. The newcomer NDV-HXP-S vaccine, developed through collaborations between researchers at University of Texas at Austin, PATH, and Mount Sinai, among others, is a mouthful to say but the name captures the two reasons people are excited about it. NDV refers to the…

WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021 Data Updates High-income country confirmed dose total: 4.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 1.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 711 million Low-income country total: 670 million COVAX total: 1.12 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 8.6 billion doses Weekly Insights and Interesting Trends Will India’s export controls doom supply for low- and middle-income countries? Author: Andrea Taylor India’s announcement this week that it would halt exports of domestically produced Covid-19 vaccines in the short term seemed to take the world by surprise. It probably shouldn’t have. For months, India’s Covid-19 cases appeared to plateau. As wealthier countries dithered about donations and paused exports, India led the way on donations and was lauded for their significant part in supplying COVAX and lower-income countries. The Serum Institute of India…