Canada pledges to donate 200 million doses against covid-19 by end of 2022

During the G20 summit, the Canadian government has pledged to donate millions of coronavirus vaccines to poor countries to support the fight against the covid-19 pandemic.

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The distribution of covid-19 vaccines has been uneven around the world. (AFP)

“Canada will give the equivalent of at least 200 million doses to the Covax mechanism by the end of 2022“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

Of this amount, 10 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine will be offered “quickly” to developing countries, an “immediate” commitment that the Canadian government says it is making.

Coordinated by the Alliance for Vaccines and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Covax system wants 92 disadvantaged states and territories receive free vaccines funded by the most prosperous nations.

Canada also pledged “$ 15 million to help increase vaccine production in South Africa,” Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said, Chrystia Freeland, during a press conference in Rome.

The money will be used to create a “technology transfer center” in the region to produce messenger RNA vaccines against covid-19.

“We do not control the production, but by 2022, we are convinced that it will be possible to contribute at this level “, confirmed Freeland, calling Canada’s commitment “sincere” and “very important”.

In August, the American company Moderna announced its intention to build a vaccine manufacturing plant in Canada, the first outside the United States.

According to the Canadian government, the Covax program had received less than three million of the 40 million doses already committed by Canada on Saturday, and additional deliveries are expected “in the coming days”.

FS