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WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
STORY: WHO / COVID-19 UPDATE
TRT: 4:19
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 SEPTEMBER 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Wide shot, press briefing room
2.SOUNDBITE (Englihs) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"The COVAX Facility will help to bring the pandemic under control, save lives, accelerate the economic recovery and ensure that the race for vaccines is a collaboration, not a contest. This is not charity, it’s in every country’s best interest. We sink or swim together. The fastest route to ending the pandemic and accelerating the global economic recovery is to ensure some people are vaccinated in all countries, not all people in some countries."
3.Wide shot, press briefing room
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"We have no guarantee that any single vaccine now in development will work. The more candidates we test, the higher the chance we will have a safe and efficacious vaccine. The history of vaccine development tells us that some will fail, and some will succeed."
5.Wide shot, press briefing room
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General:
"Our aim is to have 2 billion doses of vaccine available by the end of 2021. We’re encouraged to see a large number of countries signing up to the COVAX Facility. But we face some daunting challenges. For the ACT Accelerator to work as planned, it must be funded. So far, 3 billion US dollars has been invested. This has resulted in a very successful start-up phase, but it is only a tenth of the remaining 35 billion dollars needed for scale-up and impact.15 billion dollars is needed immediately to maintain momentum and stay on track for our ambitious timelines."
7.Wide shot, press briefing room
8.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Seth Berkley, CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance:
"As of today, 64 higher income countries, including 29 economies operating as Team Europe have submitted legally binding commitments to join the COVAX Facility. We expect as many as 38 more countries to join in the coming days, many of whom have already publicly stated their intent to do so. This is critically important as it means that when the funds are deposited, we can begin the process of signing formal agreements with vaccine manufacturers and developers, which are partners in the COVAX effort to secure the doses needed to end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021."
9.Wide shot, press briefing room
10.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Seth Berkley, CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance:
"The COVAX Facility is now open for business. These countries, plus those that will join in the coming days, will participate in the facility alongside 92 lower income countries that will be supported in the procurement of doses. That means that more than 156 economies representing at least two thirds of the world's population will be working together to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. From today, we potentially have a truly global solution to a global problem."
11.Wide shot, press briefing room
12.SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO, CEPI:
"COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time, we must be able to share life-saving vaccines globally at the same time. Humankind has never done this before with any life-saving, any new life-saving medical technology or intervention. We are on our way to setting a very important precedent for the world."
13.Wide shot, press briefing room
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said that the COVAX Facility will help to bring the COVID-19 pandemic “under control, save lives, accelerate the economic recovery and ensure that the race for vaccines is a collaboration, not a contest.”
64 higher income economies have joined the COVAX Facility, a global initiative that brings together governments and manufacturers to ensure eventual COVID-19 vaccines reach those in greatest need, whoever they are and wherever they live.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva today (21 Sep), Dr Tedros said that COVAX is “in every country’s best interest,” adding that “we sink or swim together. The fastest route to ending the pandemic and accelerating the global economic recovery is to ensure some people are vaccinated in all countries, not all people in some countries."
The WHO chief also said, "we have no guarantee that any single vaccine now in development will work. The more candidates we test, the higher the chance we will have a safe and efficacious vaccine.”
Dr Tedros added, “the history of vaccine development tells us that some will fail, and some will succeed."
He also said, “our aim is to have 2 billion doses of vaccine available by the end of 2021. We’re encouraged to see a large number of countries signing up to the COVAX Facility. But we face some daunting challenges.”
Tedros continued, “for the ACT Accelerator to work as planned, it must be funded. So far, 3 billion US dollars has been invested. This has resulted in a very successful start-up phase, but it is only a tenth of the remaining 35 billion dollars needed for scale-up and impact.15 billion dollars is needed immediately to maintain momentum and stay on track for our ambitious timelines."
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance said, "as of today, 64 higher income countries, including 29 economies operating as Team Europe have submitted legally binding commitments to join the COVAX Facility. We expect as many as 38 more countries to join in the coming days, many of whom have already publicly stated their intent to do so.”
He added, “this is critically important as it means that when the funds are deposited, we can begin the process of signing formal agreements with vaccine manufacturers and developers, which are partners in the COVAX effort to secure the doses needed to end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021."
Berkley also said, “the COVAX Facility is now open for business. These countries, plus those that will join in the coming days, will participate in the facility alongside 92 lower income countries that will be supported in the procurement of doses.”
He explained, “that means that more than 156 economies representing at least two thirds of the world's population will be working together to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. From today, we potentially have a truly global solution to a global problem."
Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO at CEPI said, "COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time, we must be able to share life-saving vaccines globally at the same time.”
He continued, “humankind has never done this before with any life-saving, any new life-saving medical technology or intervention. We are on our way to setting a very important precedent for the world.
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