The European Commission announced on Monday that it had joined the global joint vaccine program against the emerging corona virus, which was set up by the World Health Organization to facilitate its access to poor countries, through its contribution of 400 million euros in the form of guarantees.
On August 18, the organization sent a letter to the 194 member states urging them to join, by August 31, the Kovacs Global Vaccine Facility (the Global Joint Vaccine Program against the emerging coronavirus).
It aims to encourage laboratories to manufacture adequate quantities of vaccines and to ensure their availability in developing countries.
"Today, the Commission announces a contribution of 400 million euros to the Kovacs mechanism, with the aim of obtaining future vaccines for the benefit of low and middle-income countries," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a video posted on Twitter.
Concurrently, on Thursday, the Commission signed, on behalf of the 27 member states, a preliminary contract with the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company "AstraZeneca" to purchase an anti-corona virus vaccine for all its members, in addition to donating it to poor countries.
Negotiations are also continuing with other laboratories with the aim of concluding similar agreements, especially with the French company Sanofi, the American Johnson & Johnson, the German "Corvac" and the American "Moderna", provided that it keeps hundreds of millions of doses of the promised vaccine each time for itself.
