Infectious Disease

COVAX to end as COVID-19 vaccines move to routine immunization programs

Evan Vega December 28, 2023

0 95 2 minutes read

December 28, 2023

2 min read

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Key takeaways:

The multinational program has delivered 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 146 nations and saved 2.7 million lives.
Some nations are eligible to receive vaccine doses through Gavi in 2024 and 2025.

COVAX, the multinational program launched in 2020 to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to low- and lower-middle income countries, will end on Dec. 31, 2023, as the vaccines shift to routine immunization programs.

The program has been jointly led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), UNICEF and WHO, which raised $2 billion to procure vaccines and delivered its first vaccination in a low-income nation in January 2021, 39 days after the vaccines had become available.

COVID vaccine draw

COVAX has delivered 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine doses to 146 nations since its inception in 2020. Image: Adobe Stock

COVAX has delivered roughly 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to 146 nations and is estimated to have prevented the deaths of at least 2.7 million people, achieving a two-dose coverage of 57% of people in lower-income nations, according to a joint press release from the four organizations.

“Millions of people are alive today who would not have been here without COVAX. Those averted deaths mean mothers can continue to nurture their children, and grandparents can enjoy watching future generations flourish,” Jane Halton, chair of the board for CEPI, said in a press release.

“Despite being built and funded from scratch amid the deadliest pandemic the world has seen in more than a century, COVAX’s lifesaving accomplishments were considerable. It should take its place in history and be proud of what it was able to accomplish but also serve as a reminder to us all that we can and must do better next time,” she said.

COVAX was created to overcome a global imbalance of access to COVID-19 vaccines after they started rolling out in higher income nations like the United States, which re-engaged with WHO and joined the COVAX initiative in January 2021.

The program was designed based on lessons from the H1N1 pandemic, most significantly advocating that “no one is safe until everyone is safe,” focusing on global vaccine equity for at least people who were at greatest risk for hospitalization or death, with 190 nations joining the effort by the end of 2020.

Of the 146 nations that received COVID-19 vaccine doses from COVAX, 92 lower income nations are eligible to continue receiving doses and delivery support through Gavi’s regular vaccination programs in 2024 and 2025. According to Gavi, 58 of the 92 nations have already requested roughly 83 million doses to vaccinate various high-risk groups of people.

“We knew that market forces alone would not deliver equitable access to vaccines and other tools,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MD, said in a press release. “The creation of ACT-A and COVAX gave millions of people around the world access to vaccines, tests, treatments and other tools who would otherwise have missed out. COVAX has taught us valuable lessons that will help us be better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.”