COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed in 145 countries

Vaccines will be available to 145 countries, including more than 10 in Europe, beginning at the end of the period as part of the COVAX action for a global way to coronavirus vaccines.

The program, led by the World Health Organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, published its first delivery plan.

For many countries unable to compete for the limited first vaccine doses by going directly to pharmaceutical companies, it's the only hope to get the vaccine experts to hope will end the COVID pandemic.

The initiative aims to give around 337.2 million doses (336 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) by June.

The doses will cover on average 3.3% of the total population of the 145 participating countries, which include low and middle-income nations as well as richer nations such as New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and South Korea, to name a few.

In the European region, several nations in the Balkans and other European areas could begin receiving vaccines by the end of the month.

Some countries have now started their operations, including Serbia, which began rolling out vaccines in late December.

The WHO initiative is committed to the fair global distribution of vaccines. The organization's director-general has said the world was on the brink of a "catastrophic moral failure" as rich countries bought up early doses of vaccines.

There are 92 countries on the list which are low and average income and will receive the vaccines through donations to the drive-by high-income roots and global foundations.

The European Union has, together with member states, contributed €850 million to the initiative, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said.

But globally, there are still concerns that younger people in rich countries will have access to vaccines before older people and healthcare workers in poor countries.