Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, appealed for $4 billion to buy COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in lower and middle-income countries through the COVAX vaccine facility. “Vaccines offer great hope to turn the tide of the pandemic. But to protect the world, we must ensure that all people at risk everywhere - not just in countries who can afford vaccines - are immunised,” he said. The COVAX alliance, which aims to secure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, said on Dec. 18 it had agreements in place for nearly 2 billion doses, roughly doubling its supply, with the first deliveries due in early 2021. More than 81.84 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,788,443 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Source: bd News24 December 30, 2020 13:30 UTC