Last checked at 
* St Lucia became 100th country to receive COVID-19 vaccines
* 38 mln doses delivered in six weeks - GAVI/WHO statement
* Despite supply issues, 2 billion doses to be provided in
2021
(Adds comment on AstraZeneca vaccine in new 5 and 6 paragraphs)
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, April 8 (Reuters) - The COVAX vaccine facility has
delivered nearly 38.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 102
countries and economies across six continents, six weeks after
it began to roll out supplies, according to a statement on
Thursday.
The programme offers a lifeline to low-income countries in
particular, allowing them to inoculate health workers and others
at high risk, even if their governments have not managed to
secure vaccines from the manufacturers.
But there have been some delays, the GAVI vaccine alliance
and World Health Organization said in a statement.
Reduced availability delayed some deliveries in March and
April, and much of the output of the Serum Institute of India,
which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, is being kept in
India, where daily infections surpassed 100,000 for the first
time on Monday.
The Anglo-Swedish vaccine has been plagued by safety
concerns, with Europe's regulator saying on Wednesday it found
rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients, although
it still believes that its benefits outweighed the risks.
"Decisions on the COVAX portfolio that relate to safety as
well as recommendations and guidance for use of vaccine products
are based on WHO guidance. WHO guidance on use of the AZ vaccine
remains unchanged," a GAVI spokesperson said on Thursday.
The Caribbean island of St. Lucia became the 100th country
to receive vaccines through COVAX. Iran, also battling a record
rate of infection, is another recent recipient.
The 102 countries reached so far include 61 benefiting from
donor financing.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday
called it a "travesty" that some countries still did not have
enough vaccines to begin inoculating health workers and the most
vulnerable.
"COVAX may be on track to deliver to all participating
economies in the first half of the year, yet we still face a
daunting challenge as we seek to end the acute stage of the
pandemic," GAVI chief executive Seth Berkley said in the
statement.
COVAX still expects to deliver at least 2 billion doses this
year, and to diversify the offering beyond the
AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer/BioNTech shots it is currently
supplying.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey and
Sonya Hepinstall)
