New reckoning for WHO vaccine plan as governments go it alone

GENEVA (Reuters) - Wealthier countries that join the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 vaccine plan are being offered a new option to pick and choose which shots they get while reserving a right to receive their “full share” of doses, documents seen by Reuters show.

New reckoning for WHO vaccine plan as governments go it alone The World Health Organization will next week receive a raft of pledges of support for its plan for COVID-19 vaccines for all. Kate Kelland U.S.

LONDON/BRUSSELS/GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization will next week receive a raft of pledges of support for its plan for COVID-19 vaccines for all.

But the agency has already had to scale back its ambition.

The United States, Japan, Britain and the European Union have struck their own deals to secure millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for their citizens, ignoring the U.N. body’s warnings that “vaccine nationalism” will squeeze supplies.

If other countries that can afford it pursue a similar approach, the WHO’s strategy for fighting the coronavirus pandemic globally and equitably risks coming undone, experts warn.

“If that were to happen, it’s fairly clear that there would be insufficient volumes of vaccine available for any other countries, particularly in the first six to nine months,” said Alex Harris, head of global policy at the Wellcome Trust health charity.

Countries wishing to be part of the WHO initiative, dubbed COVAX, must submit expressions of interest by Monday.

More than 170 countries, including Canada, Norway, South Korea and Britain, have submitted non-binding expressions of interest to participate in the scheme, which the WHO has touted as the only global initiative to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to rich and poor countries alike.

It has signed up nine COVID-19 vaccine candidates and set out plans to obtain and deliver 2 billion doses by the end of 2021 across countries that sign up.

But it has struggled to get wealthier countries on board in full beyond pledges of funding and warm words about donating surplus vaccines. ...