How it works: COVAX — led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the Gavi vaccine alliance — is investing in the production of nine vaccines, including candidates from the U.S., Europe and China. It plans to distribute any that are approved to all participating countries.
- The funding will come from wealthier countries and other donors, with poorer countries receiving subsidized access.
A draft plan envisions a first phase of proportional distribution across all countries until about 20% of their populations are vaccinated.
- The guidelines suggest health workers be vaccinated first, followed by the elderly and those with serious health conditions (countries will make their own allocation decisions).
- In a second wave of more widespread distribution, each country’s "COVID threat and vulnerability" will be taken into account.
Where things stand: 65 higher-income economies have now joined the 92 that are eligible for subsidized access. Together, they comprise 64% of the global population.
- A further 35 higher-income countries or territories have said they intend to join.
The other side: The U.S. is independently buying up doses of six vaccine candidates and has said it won't participate in COVAX, citing the influence of "the corrupt World Health Organization and China."
- China isn't currently part of COVAX. It may still join, but it plans to give its citizens and some friendly countries priority access to any vaccine it produces.
- Russia hasn't joined either. Like China, it says it will make its vaccine available to other countries, but it wants to control that process.
- President Trump, meanwhile, has said the U.S. will vaccinate Americans first and then share any remaining doses.
Between the lines: COVAX will be competing for a scarce supply of vaccines with both the U.S. and some of its own participants.
- The U.K., Japan and EU plan to participate in COVAX, but they have also been purchasing tens of millions of doses for their own populations.
- Meanwhile, India is eligible for access under COVAX, but it has also been promised some 500 million doses by the Serum Institute of India, the world's highest-capacity vaccine manufacturer.
What to watch: The groups behind COVAX argue that its diversified "portfolio" of vaccines gives countries their best shot at obtaining access to one that works.
- Russia, by contrast, appears to be putting all of its hopes into a single vaccine, called Sputnik.
- The White House says it's confident that at least one of the six vaccines the U.S. has invested in will work.
- The latest: Johnson & Johnson's vaccine became the fourth to begin phase 3 trials in the U.S. this week.
The bottom line: We're sprinting toward a potential vaccine, and there's now a plan in place to distribute it around the world. But this is one of the most complex global undertakings in decades, and success is far from guaranteed.
Go deeper: Where the vaccine race stands in the U.S.
