AstraZeneca initiates COVID-19 vaccine global rollout

The biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said it has initiated steps to provide broad and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, noting doses have begun arriving globally in low and middle-income countries.

“These first steps towards fulfilling our broad, equitable, and no-profit emergency response to the pandemic mean millions of people, irrespective of their country’s income level, will soon be protected against this deadly virus,” AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said. “This is a moment of great pride for us at AstraZeneca, and I am extremely grateful to our partners, including Gavi, CEPI, and Oxford University, for their hard work and dedication in order to make this humanitarian ideal a reality for many millions of people around the world.”

The first COVAX shipments were dispatched late last week to Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire – and more are due to begin arriving in countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji, Mongolia, and Moldova. The supply represents the first COVID-19 vaccine for many of the countries, officials added.

“Global, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines is only possible when the public and private sectors work together,” Gavi CEO Seth Berkley said. “When we launched the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment in June 2020, our first Agreement was with AstraZeneca. Nine months later, the first doses are already being delivered to those that need them most. This is the beginning of COVAX’s effort to end the acute phase of the pandemic, not the end, but we can all take strength from this moment, and I thank AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for their support and partnership at every step of our journey.”