At present, the COVID-19 epidemic is still raging all over the world, which continues to threaten the safety and health of human beings. People in all countries have more urgent expectations for fair access to safe and effective vaccines, and the international community is more concerned about the fair distribution of vaccines. COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX), which aims to solve this problem, has also attracted much attention.
According to the latest data on the WHO website, as of October 19th, 184 countries and regions have joined the program. There are 198 candidate vaccines being developed and registered in various countries, 44 of which have entered the clinical trial stage. At present, "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan" has included nine candidate vaccines, two of which are from China.
Efforts to ensure equitable access to vaccines
The "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan" was jointly initiated and led by GAVI, WHO and CEPI, aiming at accelerating vaccine research and development and production in COVID-19, and ensuring fair access to vaccines for all countries, including providing access to safe and effective vaccines for countries with no vaccine research and development capacity or low income.
The initial goal of this plan is to complete the production of 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, and use half of them in low-income countries. This plan can share the risk of vaccine development, effectively reduce the cost of vaccine procurement and ensure the fair distribution of vaccines. Countries and regions participating in this program can obtain vaccines needed by at least 20% of the population in this country or region in an immediate and orderly manner, and can ensure the diversification and active management of vaccine product portfolio.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said earlier that this is the most effective mechanism for the fair sharing of safe and effective vaccines in the world, which enables participating countries and economies to enjoy the widest and most diverse vaccine candidate portfolio in the world, ensuring that all countries can obtain vaccines at the same time, and giving priority to high-risk groups such as health workers, the elderly and people with potential diseases. Through this plan, global coordinated deployment can be achieved, and the best interests of all countries can be guaranteed. It will be the fastest way to control and end the epidemic, save lives and accelerate the process of global economic recovery. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed: "We should ensure that at least some people in all countries are vaccinated instead of all people in some countries."
It is understood that the economies participating in the "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan" are divided into "self-funded economies" and "funded economies". In some cases, the "self-funded economy" can choose a specific vaccine in the vaccine combination rather than other vaccines. Vaccine supply is limited, not all countries can get their first choice immediately, but they will try their best to meet the preferences of all countries.
The "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan" needs a total of $7 billion before the end of 2021 to purchase the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low-and middle-income countries. At present, the first fundraising target is 2 billion US dollars, which is expected to be achieved before the end of this year. In addition, an additional $1.6 billion is needed to transport vaccines to low-and middle-income countries to cover transportation and storage costs.
Solemn commitment to show the role of a big country
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has always taken a positive attitude towards global cooperation in vaccine research and development. In his speech at the opening ceremony of the video conference of the 73rd World Health Assembly on May 18th, this year, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader pointed out that China COVID-19 vaccine, after being developed and put into use, will be a global public product, making China contribution to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries. This is a solemn commitment made by the leaders of China to the world to fight the epidemic. Today, China keeps his word, and is earnestly and responsibly fulfilling his promise actively and effectively. At present, China COVID-19 vaccine research and development is at the international leading level.
On October 8th, China signed an agreement with GAVI to join the "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan". China’s accession has enhanced the global strength and coverage, and it is a strong support for the global anti-epidemic efforts. As a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said, China has maintained communication and cooperation with sponsors such as WHO and GAVI, and has always taken a positive attitude towards joining this program. China’s accession is an important measure for China to uphold the concept of human health community and fulfill its commitment to promote vaccines to become global public goods. China promotes the fair distribution of vaccines through practical actions, ensures the provision of vaccines to developing countries, and encourages more countries with the ability to support and join this plan.
In addition, the China Municipal Government supports China vaccine research and development enterprises to participate in the "COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan". According to reports, some China vaccine R&D enterprises have expressed their positive intention to join the program, and technical experts from both sides are maintaining close communication on technical standards in vaccine R&D, certification and supervision. China will also give priority to providing vaccines to developing countries in various forms, including donations and free assistance.
The international community spoke highly of it.
China’s practical actions have won praise from the international community. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said on social media on October 11th that China was welcome to join the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan. Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU and China share the same goal, that is, multilateralism is the key to make vaccines benefit all parts of the world and all people, and look forward to working with China and other partners in this regard.
Seth Berkeley, CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization, said that it was a huge challenge just a few months ago to ensure that all countries, rich or poor, can get COVID-19 vaccine fairly and quickly, and now it is becoming a reality. With China’s accession, we are rapidly approaching our initial goal, that is, to start supporting low-income countries.
In an interview with the media, Aurelia Ruan, executive director of the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization, said that China’s participation was very important, which provided impetus for ensuring fair access to vaccines. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, China showed very active leadership and carried out a lot of vaccine research and development. This plan will provide a great space for public and private sector vaccine developers in China to participate.
Jerome King, director of the International Vaccine Research Institute, told the media that many vaccines in China have entered the final testing stage, and China joined the program at this time, which highlighted China’s determination to participate in global solidarity against the epidemic.
Foreign media reports praised China as the largest economy supporting the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan so far. Reuters reported that China’s participation has greatly promoted the plan and made China the largest economy that has promised to support the fair purchase and distribution of vaccines. The British "Guardian" reported that China’s participation in the program has added more confidence for the international community to unite against the epidemic, and it has also improved the image of China, and China has become the largest economy against "vaccine nationalism". Bloomberg reported that China’s participation in this program filled the gap in the global health leadership left by the US government. Al Jazeera website reported that China is by far the largest economy supporting this program, and China’s participation will help ensure that poor countries can get COVID-19 vaccine, which is also an important step for China to fulfill its commitment to make COVID-19 vaccine a global public product.
According to the observation analysts in Geneva, where WHO headquarters is located, past disasters in human history have repeatedly proved that only countries, regions and stakeholders can unite and cooperate in the spirit of sharing the same breath and common destiny, and abandon self-interest, can they finally overcome disasters. From this perspective, the core purpose of anti-epidemic is to promote global fair access to vaccines by strengthening global cooperation, with the focus on providing necessary assistance to developing countries with fragile health systems. It can be said that whether developing countries can get vaccines fairly is a crucial factor for the world to finally overcome the epidemic. China’s participation in this plan is of great significance for achieving the above objectives. Despite the huge losses and pressure brought by China’s own fight against the epidemic, it still does not forget to help developing countries. In the face of global issues such as the response to the epidemic, China once again demonstrates the responsibility and responsibility of a big country, which will greatly promote the global fight against the epidemic. (Reporter Yang Haiquan)