On May 21, 2021, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, that it had signed an advance purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson for its single-dose vaccine against COVID-19. The agreement was for a commitment to purchase 200 million doses on behalf of the COVAX Facility, with the goal of them being supplied to Facility participants in 2021.

Supply of the vaccine will be available to both self-financing and Gavi COVAX AMC-eligible participants. Gavi will continue to assess the COVAX Facility portfolio and participants’ needs and will remain in discussions with Johnson & Johnson on potential supply of 300 million additional doses in 2022.

The COVAX Facility portfolio, administered by Gavi, currently consists of agreements related to 8 vaccines and vaccine candidates – AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, SII-Covishield, SII-Covovax, and Sanofi/GSK – with the aim to expand to 10-12 vaccines in total, providing participants access to a diverse range of vaccines suitable for use in varied contexts and settings.

In order to continue diversifying and expanding the portfolio, and secure access to early supply in the future, Gavi is seeking to raise at least an additional US$1.6 billion for the COVAX AMC. This will allow Gavi, on behalf of the COVAX AMC, to lock in as many as 1.8 billion doses of vaccine for its 92 lower-income economies. As part of this effort, the Government of Japan was hosting the upcoming Gavi COVAX AMC Summit, bringing together world leaders, the private sector, civil society and key technical partners in a virtual event on June 2^nd.

In addition to doses secured via agreements with manufacturers, Gavi and its COVAX partners the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization and UNICEF also call on the international community to share doses with COVAX immediately to help those countries that have been worst hit by current global supply constraints and urgently need to protect their most at-risk populations.