The vaccine makers’ plans were unveiled amid criticism that the international pharmaceutical industry and wealthier nations have not done their part to help less wealthy countries with their vaccination campaigns and ignored calls for waiving intellectual property to boost the global inoculation rate.

Principal focus of the summit hosted by the European Commission was to pass the Declaration of Rome, a set of guiding principles ranging from ensuring fair distribution of vaccines to ramping up production and possibly using compulsory licenses. As had been hinted in advance, the meeting did not embrace the calls to waive intellectual property launched by India and South Africa and recently supported by the US.

In his speech, Italy’s new prime minister and former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said that nearly 1.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered in over 180 countries worldwide, but only 0.3% of the inoculations took place in low-income countries. Richer countries have vaccinated around 85% of the total.

Of the commitments, Pfizer/BioNTech will supply the lion’s share, with 1 billion doses this year and the same amount next year. J&J has pledged to deliver 200 million this year, and Moderna announced recently that it would provide 100 million. Shipments to the poorest countries are planned to be billed at the manufacturer’s price, with the other category charged a low price. Most of the contingent is to be routed through the World Health Organization’s COVAX scheme.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU plans to donate at least 100 million doses to low and middle-income countries by the end of 2021. The bloc also plans to help Africa build up its own vaccine production capacity over the next two decades. Currently, the continent imports 99% of the vaccines it administers.

The EU has agreed to facilitate the use of compulsory licenses in particular exports of Covid vaccines to all countries that lack manufacturing capacity. The Commission said it will propose to the World Health Organization that it clarify use of compulsory licenses in crisis times, supporting the expansion of production and work toward limiting export restrictions.

The bloc’s plans are being backed by €1 billion funding from the EU budget and European development finance institutions such as the European Investment Bank. The investment will cover infrastructure and production capacity, training and skills, supply chains management and a regulatory framework. By its own account, the EU to date has invested €4 billion in Covid research and production capacity.

At the summit, several countries made financial commitments toward ending the pandemic and boosting the speed of recovery, especially in the developing world. China pledged an additional $3 billion over the next 3 years. German chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will boost its contribution to COVAX to more than €1 billion and donate 30 million surplus doses, while France said it will share at least 30 million doses up to the end of 2021 and contribute €500 million to the WHO’s Act-Accelerator initiative. Vice president Kamala Harris said the US will continue to donate excess vaccine doses to countries in need.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist