About COVAX
A historic multilateral effort co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF from 2020 through 2023, COVAX pushed to centre vaccine equity at the heart of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX will come to a close on 31 December 2023.
COVAX in numbers
195 participating economies
~2 billion vaccines and safe injection devices shipped to 146 economies
~2.7 million deaths averted
10 different COVID-19 vaccine products shipped
>US$ 12 billion to support access for lower-income economies
History and milestones
“No one is safe until everyone is safe”: Key moments in the evolution of the COVAX Facility – the global risk-sharing mechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of vaccines at the heart of COVAX.
Key learnings
COVAX: key learnings for future pandemic preparedness and response
WHITE PAPER | 14 September 2022
Drawing on COVAX’s unique experience enabling an unprecedented global rollout at scale during a pandemic, this paper outlines the key challenges the mechanism faced in seeking to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, the actions it took in response and recommendations for the future.
A preliminary assessment of COVAX’s impact in lower-income countries
WHITE PAPER | May 2023
Approximately 90% of COVAX-delivered COVID-19 doses have gone to lower-income economies. This represents the fastest and most complex global deployment of vaccines ever. But in terms of achieving equitable access during this pandemic, how successful has it been and where have its impacts been the greatest?
Coordination in a crisis: Lessons managing the COVAX Strategic Coordination Office (2021–2023)
WHITE PAPER | December 2023
Drawing upon experiences gained during the COVID-19 pandemic in coordinating the COVAX Strategic Coordination Office (SCO), this paper proposes lessons for future pandemic responses, as well as what might be maintained during intra-pandemic periods, to better prepare for future emergencies.
Building an emergency response decision-making framework for outbreaks of pandemic potential
DISCUSSION PAPER | April 2023
When an outbreak of an infectious disease starts to escalate, how should global health organisations decide on if, when and how to launch a response? To this end, Gavi is working with partners to develop a decision-making framework for outbreaks of pandemic potential that will define optimum interventions, specific to the outbreak, and unlock critical financing in response.
The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator: what is it and why is it important?
VACCINESWORK ARTICLE
A new innovative financing instrument, called the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), has been approved by the Gavi Board. But why is it important for African countries to produce vaccines, how will it work, and why now?
Expanding Sustainable Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa 2022
WHITE PAPER | 2 November 2022
The pandemic has highlighted new and pressing challenges to regional vaccine supply resilience as a critical factor in global health security. While 1.8 billion doses1 of COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped under COVAX, including 0.6 billion to Africa, early delays in obtaining doses on the African continent stimulated new resolve to address future supply security.
A New Era of Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa
WHITE PAPER | 22 June 2022
One of the prominent issues exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic is the urgent need to further diversify global vaccine manufacturing, particularly with regards to Africa. With the political realities of nationalism, trade barriers, and the absence of regional manufacturing capability and capacity, rapid and equitable global access to life-saving vaccines can be compromised, leading to delays that put lives at risk.
Taking stock of humanitarian access to pandemic vaccines
DISCUSSION PAPER | 22 June 2022
COVAX was launched in 2020 with equity as its foundational principle, and fundamental to its design from the outset was a vision to address the most unpredictable and hardest to fill gaps in global COVID-19 vaccine access.
10 Learnings for the Alliance from the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer
DISCUSSION PAPER | February 2023
The following 10 learnings highlight the ways in which the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer (HB) and COVAX’s broader learnings in reaching humanitarian settings can contribute to both the Alliance’s work in routine immunisation, future preparedness and response efforts.
Country perspectives
Major study suggests transparent communication is key to vaccine uptake
A Lancet study of 1.1 million people suggests that most COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy reflected concrete concerns that faded over time, underscoring the importance of good information and transparent communication.
Have we already forgotten the lessons of COVID-19? We asked an expert in anticipating crises
Bureaucracy, politics and fraying trust in institutions could mean that warnings about the next health crisis fall on deaf ears, says a leading expert.
Major study confirms COVID-19 vaccination does not affect fertility
Extensive population data from Sweden supports the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for women of childbearing age.
Massive four-year study finds no increase in deaths linked to COVID-19 mRNA vaccination
Data from 30 million French adults suggests COVID-19 vaccines did not lead to higher death rates. Instead, they reduced them.
Long COVID’s hidden toll: the South Africans still battling fatigue, anxiety and memory loss
Long COVID isn’t purely a biological problem; it’s a human one, shaped by both physiology and lived experience.
Gavi's impact in Africa since 2000
Through Gavi's partnerships with 41 African countries over the past 25 years, more than half a billion children have been reached through routine immunisation in Africa with Gavi support.
COVID-19 infection poses higher, longer heart risks to children than vaccination
A comprehensive analysis of English health records finds higher risk of rare heart complications in children and adolescents who caught COVID-19 compared to those who received an mRNA-based COVID vaccine.
Study suggests mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can improve chances of cancer survival
COVID-19 vaccines could prolong the life of cancer patients by activating a powerful immune response that boosts the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
New data underlines impact of COVID-19 booster vaccines
Real-world data shows boosters give extra protection against severe COVID-19
How your morning commute could shape the next pandemic
New research using mobile phone data shows how daily travel patterns can fuel the spread of infectious diseases.
Behavioural nudges could cut vaccine hesitancy in health workers
Reducing any friction in getting a vaccine and adding social ‘nudges’ could mean fewer health workers skip vaccines for flu or COVID-19.
Long COVID isn’t just a bunch of lingering symptoms. A new study shows it can stop people doing what they want to do, and need to do.
COVAX data brief
Regular snapshot of latest information on key COVAX data points, including shipments, donations, coverage, administration, absorption and delivery support.
Explore COVAX
Managing the end-to-end coordination of COVAX, ensuring pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world.
The Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) ensured access to COVID-19 vaccines and support for lower-income countries.
COVAX in humanitarian settings
Addressing the most unpredictable and hard-to-fill gaps in access.
