Online Event: A Global Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination
As the world moves into the second year of the novel coronavirus pandemic, several different vaccine candidates have been approved and are beginning to be deployed around the world. While many countries, including the United States, have pursued their own bilateral deals to secure access to Covid-19 vaccines, the COVAX Facility, the vaccines arm of the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, has mobilized for collective solutions. COVAX is an innovative and collaborative mechanism, negotiating purchase deals on behalf of over 190 participating economies, both those who finance the deals themselves and those who will be supported. But with the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines promising to be the largest and most complex vaccine introduction in history, and the spread of concerning new viral variants giving heightened urgency to the vaccination campaign, what are realistic expectations for global and equitable distribution over the course of 2021?
Please join the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security on Wednesday, February 10 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST for a discussion featuring John-Arne Røttingen, Ambassador for Global Health with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking from Norway’s position as co-chair of the ACT Accelerator Facilitation Council; Anuradha Gupta, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Advisor, Office of the Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; and Muhammad Ali Pate, Global Director, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice of the World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF). Julie L. Gerberding, Commission Co-Chair and Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck, will moderate the discussion.The panelists will discuss global progress in fundraising, procurement, and planning for the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, as well as tests and treatments; opportunities for renewed multilateral engagement by the United States in the World Health Organization, ACT Accelerator, and COVAX; and early lessons to be learned from the ACT Accelerator and COVAX for future epidemic preparedness and response.
This is the second in a series of virtual events on renewing the U.S. immunization agenda. This event is made possible by the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
