Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief medical officer of Johnson & Johnson, said during the G20 Health Summit Friday that the company has entered an agreement with GAVI to supply up to 200 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to COVAX by the end of the year, will the possibility of more next year.
“We strongly support the mission of COVAX and we are pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement with GAVI with the goal to supply up to 200 million doses to COVAX by the end of 2021 and will stay in close discussion with GAVI on the potential supply of an additional 300 million doses in 2022 for a combined total of up to 500 million doses,” Stoffels said.
The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is a single-shot vaccine.
Stoffels described the GAVI partnership as “the single greatest step” J&J has taken to ensure its vaccine is accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Some more context: COVAX is an entity run by a coalition that includes the Vaccine Alliance known as Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO), and is funded by donations from governments, multilateral institutions and foundations.
Its mission is to buy coronavirus vaccines in bulk and send them to poorer nations that can't compete with wealthy countries in securing contracts with the major drug companies.
