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“(It will be) the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken”—IATA Rich countries like the United States and European nations have booked in advance billions of COVID-19 vaccine doses from several companies, even if they are in development. Th e US has committed nearly $10 billion to procure at least 700 million doses of vaccines from diff erent companies ($1.2 billion for 300 million doses from AstraZeneca, $1.5 billion for 100 million doses from Moderns, $1.9 billion for 100 million doses from Pfi zer BioNTech, $2.1 billion for 100 million doses from Sanofi GSK, and $1.6 billion for 100 million doses from Novavax).
The United Kingdom has booked 250 million doses from different companies (AstraZeneca, SanofiGSK, Pfizer BioNTech), which is about four times the number of its population. The European Union has booked 300 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and 300 million from Pfizer BioNTech, and is in talks with CureVac, SanofiGSK, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna for their vaccines. Provided that the vaccine candidates are approved, the European Union will have enough vaccines for its population. Japan has agreed to buy 120 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
Obviously, less affluent countries, which cannot afford to make priority deals with manufacturers, will have to wait awhile, not only because of rich countries taking the lion’s share early, but also due to major challenges in distribution. Nevertheless, China and Russia are offering their fast-tracked vaccines to such countries, although Russia has had to curtail its earlier plan to produce 30 million doses of Sputnik V by the end of this year, with new figures between two million and 10 million doses. China, on the other hand, plans to reach an annual production of 610 million doses by year-end, and more than one billion by 2021. A number of South American countries expect to get adequate supplies of vaccines like Gamaleya’s Sputnik V (it was tested in Brazil and Argentina) and Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine.
Poorer nations will, however, be more dependent on a program called COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access)—a collaboration between the World Health Organization, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations—which was set up to accelerate development and equal distribution of vaccines globally. The money needed to purchase and distribute the vaccines is collected from different states and non-profit organizations. Notably, Russia and the United States do not contribute to COVAX; nonetheless, about two billion dollars has already been collected, of which some $500 million is from the European Union. The aim is to provide one billion doses to about 20% of the population of low- and middle-income countries by 2021-end. Countries with a bigger threat from COVID-19 to their healthcare system will be first in line to get the vaccines.
Expectedly, the logistics of delivering billions of doses all over the world is sure to be a most challenging one. As soon as the vaccines are approved, freight transporters will begin the massive operation of transporting them as quickly and smoothly as possible throughout the globe. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), distributing these vaccines will be “the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken. “Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines have to be stored and transported at temperatures of -70 degrees Centigrade, which means that special refrigerators are needed, and these may not be easily or widely- available in poor regions of Asia and Africa. And, even for vaccines not requiring ultra-cold temperatures, distribution is still a big challenge.
DHL, the German logistics company, estimates that around 15,000 airplanes will be needed to distribute the vaccines globally. Since Pfizer and Moderna’s production sites are in the
United States and parts of Europe, it will be a hard task shipping their vaccines to other continents. Pfizer-BioNTech has plans to transport about 7.6 million doses to nearby airports from its distribution sites in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium. Pfizer’s vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA on December 11, 2020, and the first consignment of about three million doses have been dispatched in ice-packed freezers to various distribution sites across the country. FedEx and UPS are delivering part of the consignment.
AstraZeneca-Oxford’s vaccine does not require extreme-cold storage, and is among the cheapest, at ($3-4 per dose) so it is the vaccine of choice for COVAX to supply to low- and middle income countries. In fact, three billion doses have already been booked in advance by COVAX and various nations, which is several times more than any other vaccine. The company plans to produce a billion doses at the Serum Institute of India (the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer). Starting next year, the institute is planning to make up to 100 million doses of the vaccine each month. Named Covishield, the vaccine is undergoing phase 3 trials in India, and the company has already applied for emergency use authorization in the country. Fifty million doses of the vaccine have been made till date. The institute will also manufacture Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine. GAVI and the Gates Foundation have funded the company to deliver up to 200 million doses, at $3 per dose, of both vaccines.
Establishing such manufacturing facilities worldwide will be vital for ensuring fair global access to the vaccines. In fact, COVAX lays emphasis on this factor, stating, “Production in at least two different countries for each of those vaccines is part of the plan…these are all efforts to both scale-up manufacturing to meet the needs, but also to be able to move the manufacturing from one geographic location to another so as to be closer to where the needs are.”
References:
1. CNBC, Nov 17, 2020, https://cnb.cx/36Go6cJ
2. Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2020, https://on.wsj.com/3lB0E4J
3. Global Times, September 25, 2020,
4. DW, November 27, 2020,
