Good morning, everyone. Damian Garde here, filling in for Ed Silverman on a sunny morning that bears at least a passing resemblance to autumn, behind schedule but welcome no less. Another day of deadlines, reply-alls, and just-circling-backs stands between you and that cherished weekend. To get you through, please find a few tidbits of news, and, as always, do stay in touch. …
COVAX, the ambitious global effort to vaccinate the world against Covid-19, has failed on its promise to efficiently deliver doses to low-income countries, according to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and STAT. Diplomats report delayed deliveries and poor communication, leading some countries to abandon the program and order doses directly from manufacturers. COVAX has delivered only 300 million vaccines so far, well off its 2 billion target for 2021.
Moderna (MRNA) has promised to build a vaccine manufacturing plant in Africa, STAT reports, but to some patient advocates, the plan doesn’t go nearly far enough to address the continent’s problems with vaccine access. Moderna’s pledge is to build a plant that would produce up to 500 million doses a year. The problem, according to the World Health Organization and others, is the company’s insistence on producing vaccine doses on its own rather than transferring the manufacturing know-how to domestic firms.
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