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By Emma Farge and Michael Shields
GENEVA, May 17 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health
Organization called on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to make
shots available to the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility earlier
than planned due to a supply shortfall left by Indian export
disruptions.
COVAX, which supplies doses to poorer countries, relies
heavily on India's Serum Institute's exports of the AstraZeneca
shot but many of these are instead being used by the
country as it battles a massive second wave of infections.
The head of UNICEF on Monday asked wealthy G7 countries
ahead of a summit next month to donate supplies as an emergency
measure to make up the shortfall estimated at 140 million doses
by end-May.
"While we appreciate the work of AstraZeneca who have been
steadily increasing the speed and volume of their deliveries, we
need other manufacturers to follow suit," WHO Director-General
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.
Specifically, he asked Pfizer to bring forward
deliveries of some 40 million doses in the second half of the
year and asked Moderna to make doses pledged for 2022
available this year.
"We need doses right now and call on them to bring forward
deliveries as soon as possible," he said.
G7 member France has already given some AstraZeneca shots to
COVAX and talks with Washington on donations are ongoing.
WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward defended COVAX's work so
far in providing 65 million doses to 120 countries, calling it a
success. But wealthy countries need to donate more vaccines now
they have vaccinated their most vulnerable populations, he said.
"We are moving in the right direction. We are not moving
there fast enough and we are not moving there at large enough
volumes," he said.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
