What the Latest Global COVID-19 Summit Achieved (and missed)

What the Latest Global COVID-19 Summit Achieved (and missed)

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, September 24, 2021 Confirmed Vaccine Purchases Confirmed Donations (by recipient, includes pledges) High income countries 6.97 B 7 M Upper  middle income countries 2.58 B 62.5 M Lower middle income countries 2.7 B 78 M Low income countries 238 M 65.1 M COVAX 2.5 B 740 M WORLDWIDE TOTALS 15 B 953 M INSIGHTS What the latest Global COVID-19 Summit achieved (and missed) Author: Andrea Taylor As we and a coalition of over 100 leaders and organizations called for, President Biden hosted a Global COVID-19 Summit on Wednesday. With participation of world leaders mostly virtually, the Summit covered familiar ground as well as some new territory. In order to make progress, we need clear goals, an action plan, and an accountability mechanism. Using this framework, we’ve reviewed the…
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Looking into Vaccine Wastage

Looking into Vaccine Wastage

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, August 13, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 6.6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 2.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 3.2 billion Low-income country total: 331 million COVAX total: 3.3 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 15 billion doses INSIGHTS Author: Blen Biru Looking into Vaccine Wastage Despite the shortage of Covid-19 vaccines globally, millions of doses are being wasted rather than used. Vaccine wastage is defined as vaccines discarded, lost, damaged or destroyed according to the WHO. There are two phases where vaccines are exposed to wastage – opened and unopened vials. Unopened vials are mostly wasted due to expiration, heat exposure, and incorrect inventory, and open vials are primarily wasted through contamination. A certain amount of wastage is expected, given the nature and complexity of vaccine…
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Will booster shots prolong the pandemic?

Will booster shots prolong the pandemic?

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Saturday, August 7, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 6.5 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 2.5 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 3.2 billion Low-income country total: 331 million COVAX total: 3.3 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 15.8 billion doses INSIGHTS Author: Andrea Taylor Will booster shots prolong the pandemic? A handful of wealthy countries recently announced plans to roll out booster shots in late 2021 for vulnerable populations already fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Israel has already begun providing third shots for immunocompromised people and is opening eligibility this week to everyone over the age of 60. Germany, France, the UK, and the US have indicated they will begin boosters for priority groups as early as September. The WHO responded quickly with a reminder that most of the world is still waiting for their first…
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TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT VACCINE EXPORTS

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT VACCINE EXPORTS

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, July 9, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 6.2 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 2.3 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 1.9 billion Low-income country total: 306 million COVAX total: 3.1 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 12.9 billion doses INSIGHTS Taking a closer look at vaccine exports Author: Joslin Coggan Many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have yet to receive the vaccines necessary to slow the spread of Covid-19 despite recent purchase and donation agreements. In recent weeks, large scale donations of Covid-19 vaccines have made headlines as the US and EU promised to send hundreds of millions of doses to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, many of these deals are yet to be realized as exports have not matched demand. Supply…
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HOW CAN INDIA ADDRESS A POTENTIAL THIRD WAVE OF SARS-CV-2 INFECTIONS?

HOW CAN INDIA ADDRESS A POTENTIAL THIRD WAVE OF SARS-CV-2 INFECTIONS?

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, June 11, 2021 High-income country confirmed dose total: 6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 2.2 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 1.4 billion Low-income country total: 271 million COVAX total: 2.4 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 12.2 billion doses INSIGHTS How can India address a potential third wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections? Author: Nikki Prattipati Starting mid-March 2021, India has become the epicenter of COVID-19 as a second wave of infections devastated the country. India reported 50 percent of global cases and 30 percent of global COVID-19 deaths, and an alarming rate of over 400,000 daily new cases at the height of the wave in early May 2021. While official projections estimate 29 million total infections and 360,000 deaths, low testing rates and the lack of available data lead some…
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HOW DO COVID-19 VARIANTS IMPACT VACCINATIONS AND THE ABILITY TO END THE ACUTE PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC?

HOW DO COVID-19 VARIANTS IMPACT VACCINATIONS AND THE ABILITY TO END THE ACUTE PHASE OF THE PANDEMIC?

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Friday, June 4, 2021 [caption id="attachment_1629" align="alignnone" width="300"] Coronavirus and DNA, virus mutation. New variant and strain of SARS CoV 2. Microscopic view. 3D rendering[/caption] High-income country confirmed dose total: 6 billion Upper-middle-income country total: 2.2 billion Lower-middle-income country total: 1.1 billion Low-income country total: 270 million COVAX total: 2.4 billion Total worldwide confirmed purchases of Covid-19 vaccines: 11.9 billion doses INSIGHTS How do COVID-19 variants impact vaccinations and the ability to end the acute phase of the pandemic? Author: Blen Biru Multiple COVID-19 genetic variants have been detected since the initial SARS-CoV-2 strain was found in China, the most significant of which are classified by the WHO as variants of concern or variants of interest, depending on their attributes and risk level. The variants of concern are…
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THE G20 PLEDGE DRIVE

THE G20 PLEDGE DRIVE

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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…
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WHAT THE MANUFACTURING LANDSCAPE CAN TELL US NOW

WHAT THE MANUFACTURING LANDSCAPE CAN TELL US NOW

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WEEKLY COVID VACCINE RESEARCH UPDATE Saturday, May 15, 2021 INSIGHTS What the manufacturing landscape can tell us now Author: Andrea Taylor Manufacturing projections for Covid-19 vaccines seem to shift on a near-weekly basis. We are not even halfway into 2021 and already we have seen adjustments, both up and down, across all vaccine makers. 2021 projections differ by vaccine platform Overall, we see 2021 projections increasing for mRNA vaccines Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, while decreasing for viral vector vaccines Oxford-AstraZeneca and Janssen (J&J). AstraZeneca, in particular, has faced significant manufacturing issues throughout its global production network. In addition to the well-covered constraints slowing down manufacturing in Europe and the Serum Institute of India, partners in Mexico, Brazil, and elsewhere have struggled to get production started or sustained. Janssen’s vaccine has also experienced setbacks, including the temporary…
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WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED IN ONE YEAR OF COVAX?

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED IN ONE YEAR OF COVAX?

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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…
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WILL CHICKEN EGGS CHANGE THE COVID-19 VACCINE LANDSCAPE?

WILL CHICKEN EGGS CHANGE THE COVID-19 VACCINE LANDSCAPE?

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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…
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