China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on October 8 that China has signed an agreement with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) to join COVAX, an international program which according to Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to supply the most extensive and optimized varieties of Covid-19 vaccines to the people who need them most in the world.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press conference on October 9 that the decision is intended to promote Covid-19 vaccines as a public good. She pledged that China would prioritize developing countries once Chinese vaccines are on the market.
The WHO said that COVAX, which has 184 members as of October 19, plans to provide two billion vaccines by the end of 2021.
Eleven Chinese vaccines have entered clinical trials, with one already available to certain groups, such as frontline workers or those leaving to work or study abroad.
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