TT makes covid19 vaccine down payment

PAHO executive director Joy St John said TT has made its down payment towards its share of the COVAX facility, a mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to covid19 vaccines worldwide.

Speaking during a Caribbean Public Health Facility (CARPHA) media briefing on Friday, St John said TT has made its down payment directly to GAVI (the vaccine alliance) and has asked CARPHA for help to make the remaining payments when the vaccine becomes available from the funds CARPHA would have put aside.

On October 10, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said government had approved US$9.7 million for the purchase of a successful covid19 vaccine.

PAHO assistant director Dr Jarbas Barbosa da Silva
said 40 countries in the Americas are joining the COVAX facility.

“The 40 countries will have equitable access to the covid19 vaccine, including 13 countries and territories in the Caribbean, of which seven are self-financing and six would receive support."

"The countries to receive support from PAHO are Bolivia, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines. PAHO will transfer the funds to GAVI for the down payment. When the vaccine is developed, our member states will pay the remaining amounts through the PAHO revolving fund."

He said a vaccine may cost anywhere from US$2.50 to US$35, with an average of US$10 being calculated by the World Health Organization’s strategic advisory group of experts (SAGE).

Barbosa said down payments were based on vaccinating 20 per cent of the population of each country, of whom three per cent were healthcare and frontline workers, and the remaining 17 per cent people 60 and older and adults with underlying conditions and co-morbidities.

St John said CARPHA has helped several member states with a down payment towards their share through an agreement with the European Union (EU) and the Pan American Health Organisation. The overall payment was US$2,028,233 (1.8 million euros or TT$14,314,962).

She said CARPHA has an agreement with the EU which allows for a pot of money to be given to buy vaccines and treatments. The total amount of the pot of money is three million euros ($23,858,271).

“We have been able to transfer monies from the EU to PAHO for onward transmission to GAVI. We have supported Antigua, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, with 100 per cent of the down-payment required for the COVAX facility, and Suriname with 18 per cent of the down payment for the facility. This will cover the vaccination of 20 per cent of their populations when the vaccine is deemed to be safe and efficacious following clinical trials.”

Barbosa said the organisation was glad to be able to collaborate with the EU and CARPHA to ensure equitable access to the vaccines, once developed, as Caribbean countries had been hit hard by the virus, especially those whose economies were dependent on tourism.

He pointed out, “The countries in the region of the Americas have reported almost 18 million cases and close to 600,000 deaths.

"In the 20 Caricom countries, there are over 40,000 reported cases and over 8,000 deaths.

"Global equitable access to a vaccine protects healthcare workers, frontline workers and those most at risk, ie the elderly and those with co-morbidities. There are nearly 200 vaccine candidates being worked on, and there are ten in the final stage of clinical trials. We don’t know which vaccine will be safe and effective but if we don’t prepare now we will miss out on the opportunity to benefit.

St John was happy that the collaboration had been carried out.

“I am pleased we have been helping our member states in what has been the mother of all crises that has struck the world in a collaborative way. I’m also happy that there’s been a collaboration between the EU and the PAHO representing the whole of the Americas, which is a fabulous achievement. The other part of that achievement is the record time in which the issue was resolved, came to a legal agreement and transferred the funds.”

Head of Cooperation at the EU Luis Maia said the payment will guarantee access to over a million doses for Caribbean member states when the vaccine is available.

“This should contribute to moving the countries in the region into a position where the virus no longer negatively affects the health system, economy or the everyday life of its citizens.

"PAHO and CARPHA are to be commended on their extraordinary efforts for ensuring that countries in the region were aware of this opportunity and able to access the facility. It has been an exceptional collaboration and a genuine partnership between the three organisations.”