The distribution of coronavirus vaccines in low-income countries may receive a big boost soon. On Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter said Reuters This one Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) agreed to supply the COVID-19 vaccine to a program co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The COVAX program is a group effort coordinated by WHO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The program aims to secure 2 billion doses by the end of this year to protect vulnerable people and frontline health professionals in participating countries. All countries are eligible to participate, but the program plans to distribute about 1.3 billion doses to 92 low- and middle-income countries.
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Details on the number of doses that Pfizer and BioNTech have agreed on and the price per dose that the COVAX program intends to pay partners is not yet clear. Neither company has officially announced an agreement to supply COVAX, but they are expected to fill in the blanks on Friday.
This will not be the first vaccine authorized in some countries to be guaranteed by the COVAX program. In December, the COVAX program signed an advance purchase agreement with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) for 170 million doses of a coronavirus candidate that has been authorized for use in the UK and India. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) it also has an agreement with the program to provide 500 million doses of its single-dose candidate vaccine, which is expected to produce final-stage clinical trial data at any time.