European Commission joins COVAX
Press Release – The European Commission has confirmed its interest to participate in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines everywhere, for everyone who needs them. As part of a Team Europe effort, the Commission is today also announcing a contribution of €400 million in guarantees to support COVAX and its objectives in the context of the Coronavirus Global Response.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Global collaboration is the only way to overcome a global pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Global Response and the Global Goal Unite campaign, we have seen the world come together as one. Almost €16 billion have been pledged so far and the most talented researchers and organisations are pooling their efforts to deliver vaccines, tests and treatments, which will be our universal, common good. Today, the Commission is announcing a €400 million contribution to COVAX for working together in purchasing future vaccines to the benefit of low and middle-income countries. I’m confident this will bring us closer to our goal: beating this virus, together.”
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “It is only by working together globally, in solidarity, that we can defeat the coronavirus. We need an inclusive international approach and as we are showing today, Team Europe – European Commission and the EU Member States – is committed to ensuring the success of the COVAX Facility and facilitating access to a vaccine in an equitable manner for all people across the world.”
Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International partnerships, said: “Only by securing equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine across the world will we end the pandemic and ensure a sustainable recovery; working with our partner countries is crucial so that we can build back better and healthier.”
The COVAX Facility, co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
As part of an EU joint engagement (Commission, Member States and European financial institutions, notably EIB) to mobilise resources for the Coronavirus Global Response, the Commission intends to mobilise up to €400 million in guarantees to support COVAX and its underlying objectives as part of a Team Europe effort. The detailed terms and conditions for the EU’s participation and contribution will be worked out in the coming days and weeks. Team Europe is ready to put its expertise and resources at work within COVAX to accelerate and scale-up development and manufacturing of global supply of vaccines for citizens across the world, in poor and rich countries.
The EU’s participation in COVAX will be complementary to the ongoing EU negotiations with vaccine companies that aim at scaling up manufacturing capacity of vaccine producers, contributing to global efforts.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) pushes countries to join and invest in the COVAX facility to guarantee fair and timely access for everyone to the COVID-19 vaccine.