On Dec. 18, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had arrangements in place to access nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, on behalf of 190 participating economies. For the vast majority of these deals, COVAX guaranteed access to a portion of the first wave of production, followed by volume scales as further supply becomes available.

The arrangements announced enabled all participating economies to have access to doses in the first half of 2021, with first deliveries anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2021 ﾖ contingent upon regulatory approvals and countriesﾒ readiness for delivery.