On October 17, it was revealed that Moderna, an American biotech company, will provide the world's poorest countries with a new adapted version of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Previously, there was a deal to supply people with the first vaccine created on the basis of the COVID-19 strain, but Moderna, together with GAVI, canceled it and made a new one. Thus, it was decided that starting next year, Moderna would provide hundreds of millions of doses of new adaptations of the vaccine at lower prices.
Together with the WHO and other international organizations, GAVI manages COVAX, which provides global access to vaccines against COVID-19. Thanks to COVAX, more than 140 countries have been able to receive more than one billion doses of various COVID-19 vaccines, including more than 180 million doses produced by Moderna.
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is one of a kind, as it contains both the original coronavirus strain and a variant of the mutated Omicron BA.1 strain. Moreover, the vaccine is officially recognized and can be used anywhere in the world.
According to Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI, such a deal is a key step in solving the problem of making the new vaccine available to less-developed countries.