COVAX facility

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access facility — the international mechanism co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the WHO that was established in 2020 to accelerate the development, manufacture, and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, particularly to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that lacked the purchasing power to compete for vaccines in bilateral deals; COVAX pooled demand and procurement risk from high-income countries committed to participating and used the resulting scale to negotiate vaccine supply agreements and fund vaccine development, with the goal of distributing at least 2 billion doses to 92 eligible lower-income countries (the AMC92 group) by end of 2021; COVAX delivered approximately 1.9 billion doses in 2021–22, but fell significantly short of its distribution targets due to vaccine nationalism by wealthy countries that made bilateral deals outside COVAX, export restrictions by India's Serum Institute, and delivery logistics challenges; COVAX's performance during COVID-19 reshaped debates about global health equity and vaccine access

Examples

• COVAX delivered its one-billionth vaccine dose in November 2021, though distribution remained highly unequal between high- and low-income countries.
• Critics of COVAX argued that its market-based approach to vaccine distribution could not overcome the vaccine nationalism exercised by wealthy countries with bilateral supply agreements.

Synonyms: COVAX, COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, vaccine equity mechanism