Seventh Meeting of the Multilateral Leaders Task Force, December 17, 2021: “From Vaccines to Vaccinations”

IMF News, December 22, 2021

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Canonical URL: Seventh Meeting of the Multilateral Leaders Task Force, December 17, 2021: “From Vaccines to Vaccinations”

Press Release No. 21398; published December 22, 2021.
Convened: heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization, and World Trade Organization, with high-level consultations with Gavi and UNICEF on December 17, 2021.
Purpose: increase use of COVID-19 vaccines and other critical medical countermeasures in low-income (LIC) and lower middle-income (LMIC) countries; support countries to be better prepared, resourced, and ready to roll out vaccines.
Contact: IMF Communications Department, MEDIA RELATIONS, PRESS OFFICER: Raphael Anspach, Phone: +1 202 623-7100 Email: MEDIA@IMF.org, @IMFSpokesperson

Urgent need to accelerate vaccinations in LICs, where under 5% of the population is fully vaccinated.
LICs and LMICs focus: in LMICs, around 30% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Agreed global target: vaccinate 70% of the populations in all countries by mid-2022.
The emergence of the Omicron variant underscores the need for fair and broad access to vaccines, testing, sequencing, and treatments.

Supply-side shortfalls to COVAX and AVAT.
Doses arriving with short shelf lives and without adequate lead time.
Shortages in ancillary supplies (such as syringes, safety boxes, and dilutants).
Constraints related to storage, cold chain capacity, and trained vaccinators.
Difficulties in planning and financing vaccination campaigns in a timely manner.
Vaccine hesitancy present in some LICs and LMICs.

Fulfill donation pledges as quickly as possible to accelerate near-term deliveries to COVAX.
Release manufacturers from contracts and options and implement delivery swaps, so they can prioritize supply to COVAX, AVAT, and low-coverage countries.

Contract additional doses immediately through AVAT, COVAX, or bilaterally.
Establish in-country surge capacity to increase the rate of vaccine utilization as supplies increase.
Coordinate between health and finance authorities for making increased use of multilateral development banks’ resources that are readily available for both vaccine purchase and deployment.

Addressing vaccine inequity requires:
- increasing supplies of vaccines to COVAX and AVAT;
- encouraging LICs and LMICs to purchase additional vaccine doses;
- enhancing country readiness to deploy vaccines.
Facilitate trade flows to support manufacturing and distribution of vaccines and other COVID tools by rolling back export restrictions and putting in place trade-facilitating measures.
Fully funding the ACT-A Accelerator’s Financing Framework would play an important role in narrowing gaps and reaching the global target.
Call for better coordination among vaccine manufacturers, dose donating countries, COVAX, AVAT, and other partners to improve visibility on vaccine supply schedules and quality of supply for LICs and LMICs.
Emphasized that visibility on schedules along with adequate lead times and shelf lives are critical for equitable distribution and for recipient countries and partners to prepare for in-country deployment.

Growing volumes of COVID-19 vaccines are forecast to arrive in LICs and LMICs in the coming months.
Close coordination among stakeholders is crucial to provide countries with assistance and necessary resources to increase capacity to administer doses.
Welcome appointment by UNICEF and WHO, in partnership with Gavi, of the Global Lead Coordinator for COVID Vaccine Country Readiness and Delivery to strengthen in-country vaccine deployment.

Source: Seventh Meeting of the Multilateral Leaders Task Force, December 17, 2021; Press Release No. 21398 (December 22, 2021).