Peru secures 23.1 million future COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer, COVAX

Saturday, 28 November 2020 13:55

By Reuters

Peru has secured enough coronavirus vaccine to give nearly three-quarters of its population at least one dose when the immunization is available, a hopeful development for a nation with one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in the world.

The agreements announced on Friday with Pfizer Inc and global vaccine distribution program COVAX will provide 23.1 million doses for a population of 31.9 million. Some vaccine regimes will require two doses.

The Peruvian Ministry of Health said it had signed a binding agreement with Pfizer for the purchase of 9.9 million doses of its vaccine which is in testing. Another 13.2 million doses will be bought through COVAX, which is led by the GAVI vaccines alliance and the World Health Organization and aimed at promoting equitable access.

COVAX has signed agreements to buy vaccines from French drugmaker Sanofi, Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Novavax.

The ministry added in a statement that it was negotiating with other vaccine laboratories. These include China's Sinopharm Group Co Ltd and Sinovac Biotech Inc, Moderna Inc, Novovax, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and COVAXX, a unit of United Biomedical Inc and Gamaleya, the institute that developing Russia’s main coronavirus vaccine candidate Sputnik V.

So far, the Peruvian government has signed confidential agreements with 13 pharmaceutical companies and non-binding agreements with 10 of those, the ministry added.

Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti said this week that she expects vaccines to arrive in Peru in the first quarter of 2021 before general elections on April 11, and vaccines will likely be administered in voting centers.

China's Sinopharm and the United States' Johnson & Johnson are conducting trials of their vaccines in the country, potentially allowing Peru to buy doses at a discount, the ministry of health said.

Peru has seen 111.55 deaths per 100,000 of its population, ranking third in the world for per capita mortality, according to a Reuters tally.

More from International News

Israeli attacks on Gaza killed 60 people in 24 hours

Israeli occupation forces committed multiple massacres against families in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, resulting in the killing of at least 60 Palestinians and the injury of 162 others, according to medical reports.
Trump fires National Security Agency director

U.S. President Donald Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency on Thursday, according to two officials familiar with the decision, and congressional Democrats denounced the removal of the nonpartisan official from a top security post.
Israel steps up Syria strikes, says Turkey aims for 'protectorate'

Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria, declaring the attacks a warning to the new rulers in Damascus as it accused their ally Turkey of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.
US sending Israel 20,000 assault rifles that Biden delayed

The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Reuters, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe Biden had delayed.