The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the largest immunization campaign in human history with the aim of distributing vaccine doses to 190 countries and limiting the risk of dangerous mutations. However, this project is currently racing against time. The man trying to save the world now stands in a Connecticut kindergarten, USA. He puts his laptop in front of him and sunlight is shining through the window into a crib. Benjamin Schreiber is barefoot and his hair is messy. The 46-year-old seems to have just woken up, but almost every day, he gets up from sunrise. His job is one of the most important and difficult in the world. As the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Head of Immunization Team (UNICEF), Schreiber is responsible for ensuring that 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine reach people in the poorest countries, the most distant. In an online meeting with colleagues in Germany, Panama and Haiti, Schreiber discussed his “headache” for the day: The situation is stagnant in two countries. Countries that buy the most Covid-19 vaccine. Photo: Duke Global Health Innovation Center Referring to a country where outsiders are difficult to reach, Schreiber said: “It is not clear how things are going”. In the remaining country – Haiti, the first potential vaccine shipment has been delayed. The vaccination team appears to be ready, but political and social issues are hindering shipping. Fuel in Haiti is expensive, roads are poor, budgets are miscalculated. Many people do not believe in Western aid, others do not understand Covid-19. There are discussions like this every day Schreiber. On a small scale, it often involves questions about the proper way to cool vaccines, about ingenuity in dealing with governments. However, at the core of the matter has always been global justice. The new strain corona virus has spread to every continent and infected at least 128 million people. It has ruined economies and destroyed families. Up to now, a global medical emergency has been in effect for more than a year. Citizens in some developed countries have been protected from the corona virus and many others in Africa, Asia and Latin America are still waiting to be vaccinated. Carrying vaccines to remote areas in Nepal. Photo: SPIEGEL To date, nearly 600 million doses of the vaccine have been used around the world. However, nearly two-thirds of them are used in six countries. About 60% of Israelis, less than half of Britons and one-tenth of Germans have been vaccinated at least once. In Namibia, where a population of more than 2 million people, less than 1,500 people have been vaccinated. In some other countries, no one has been vaccinated yet. Earlier this year, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of a “moral disaster”. An effort has been made to prevent that disaster. A global mechanism, called COVAX, was born to support the equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to countries. WHO launched the initiative a year ago and a vaccine consortium called GAVI and the Alliance for Pandemic Readiness Innovation (CEPI) also joined. Almost every country in the world participates in COVAX. Many countries and regions have attempted to smooth the infection curve of Covid-19. Photo: John Hopkins University COVAX’s goal is that 92 of the poorest member countries get vaccines as fast as 98 rich countries. The rich countries pay more for the initiative and the poorest countries get discounts or free vaccinations, with each country vaccinating a fifth of its population by the end of the year. It is UNICEF’s responsibility to ensure that vaccines reach their destination. The new strain corona virus is constantly changing. Most changes do not affect the degree of danger posed by the virus, but some mutations, like the strains that occurred in Brazil and the US, do. And the more the number of countries experiencing uncontrolled outbreaks, the more likely the world will have to deal with the next mutation. So how do you vaccinate those most threatened, such as the elderly, the sick, and health care workers around the world? How can COVAX achieve its ambitious goals? Graph of increasing Covid-19 cases among countries. Photo: Bloomberg A group of German magazine Der Spiegel reporters have followed the vaccine around the world. They went to vaccine factories in India, to warehouses in Copenhagen, Denmark. It all goes to the end: The vaccine is delivered to health workers in Malawi, who received their first shot in March. The reporters also witnessed a German at a kindergarten. in the US to plan vaccine distribution. Schreiber has been with UNICEF for 8 years. His biggest challenge last year, he said, was preparing nations for a short period of time. COVAX’s goal is to ship about 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of this year, corresponding to about 850 tons of vaccine per month and 1 billion syringes. Thousands of cooling boxes have to be transported to the most remote corners of the world by jeeps, boats, drones and even donkeys. Even in normal years, UNICEF vaccinates nearly every child around the world. However, UNICEF has never faced a global pandemic. The Republic of Seychelles is currently leading the world because there are enough vaccines for 63.1% of the population. Photo: Bloomberg. Immunization campaigns are usually planned many years in advance, but this time only a few months. Vaccine recipients are diverse, some have been successful, some have failed, some have only a few hundred thousand people, some have more than a billion. Countries were asked by UNICEF to explain in writing how they intend to manage the logistics of vaccinations. Schreiber read over 100 of these lengthy plans, mostly twice. He corrects and makes suggestions for improvements. Most of the time, things go well, but sometimes it doesn’t. The governments of Tanzania, Eritrea and Madagascar are still debating that Covid-19 is a dangerous disease. However, the effort paid off. On February 24, the first shipment of COVAX landed in Ghana. The first shipment to Haiti is also planned. By the end of March, UNICEF had distributed 20 million doses of the vaccine to 47 countries.

The porter is sending the boxes of vaccines to Jumla (Nepal). Photo source: UNICEF The corona virus has spread to every continent, now infecting at least 128 million people worldwide. How widespread the epidemic was, devastating economies there. Many people in Africa, Asia and Latin America are waiting to be vaccinated. So far, nearly 600 million doses of the vaccine have been used around the world, but two-thirds of them are in just six countries. About 60% of Israelis have been vaccinated once, 50% of Britons have been vaccinated, and 1 out of 10 Germans get it. In Namibia, where a population of more than 2 million people, less than 1500 people are vaccinated. Aside from Namibia, no African country has received the vaccine. To prevent that, the COVAX project was born. WHO started COVAX a year ago, and the Vaccine Coalition (GAVI) and the Alliance for Epidemic Preparation Innovation (CEPI) are participating in nearly every country in the world. The goal is to have the 92 poorest members receive as many vaccines as the 98 richest members. It is expected that by the end of 2021, each country will receive the vaccine for 1/5 of the population. UNICEF wants vaccines to reach their destination, making them available to people regardless of race or wealth. So how can COVAX achieve its ambitious goals? Project 2 billion doses of vaccine to reach poor countries Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA) affirmed that the biggest challenge for countries is “preparing to vaccinate in a short time”. COVAX’s stated goal is to ship 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, equivalent to 850 tons of vaccine / month and 1 billion syringes. Thousands of vaccine containers will reach the remotest corners of the earth by means of vehicles: Jeeps, boats, drones, and rickshaws. Countries receiving vaccine aid are diverse, some with developing economies, some with underdevelopment. Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA). Photo source: Katharina Poblotzki / Der Spiegel. Countries were required to send documents to UNICEF on how they plan to manage vaccine aid logistics: Which part of the population needs the vaccine most; Vaccine distribution plans from the airport to the rest of the country. On February 24, 2021, the first COVAX shipment landed in Ghana. By the end of March 2021, UNICEF had shipped 20 million doses of the vaccine to 47 countries. The strength of manufacturers The Indian Serum Institute (SII) is headquartered in Pune (West India), the world’s largest vaccine factory with 2.4 million doses of vaccine per day. SII is the creation of the vaccine that is being used to reach many parts of the world and its cost cannot be replicated right now. Of the more than 39 million doses of vaccine shipped by COVAX to date, 28 million have come from the Pune laboratories. India is a major supplier of COVAX. Currently, the country mainly produces vaccine AstraZeneca. But at the end of March 2021, the Indian government decided to stop the export of vaccines to a minimum when the number of new corona virus infections increased rapidly in this country. The New Delhi government’s decision to stockpile vaccines means COVAX will delay delivery of 90 million doses of vaccine to 63 receiving countries. There is currently no alternative manufacturing solution outside of India. The plane was carrying carton boxes containing COVID-19 vaccine at Mumbai airport in Maharashtra state (India) on 24 February 2021. Photo source: UNICEF / UN 0421823 / COVAX. Mr. Mounir Bouazar (head of the logistics division of COVAX in Copenhagen) has been preparing for 3-4 months for the first shipments of vaccines. By the end of 2020, Bouazar is certain that half a billion syringes will be distributed to four UNICEF warehouses in Copenhagen, Dubai, Panama and Shanghai. Now COVAX will deliver thousands of vaccines to their destination every day. But a pandemic makes it more difficult, with few or no flights due to limited travel. No flights to East Timor or the Pacific island nation have been requested by UNICEF. Vaccines and syringes moved to Yemen had to go to Nairobi, where Bouazar rented a small plane to carry vaccines and syringes. Bouazar hopes to ship more vaccines by mid-2021. There is an idea to make Bouazar’s work smoother right now: Suspend intellectual property rights to vaccines in a limited way during a pandemic. India and South Africa have filed requests to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend the COVID-19 vaccine and drug patents, which are supported by 100 countries. Then other companies can also make vaccines. COVAX coordinator Benjamin Schreiber is deploying COVID-19 vaccine to the poorest and most isolated countries in the world. Connecting with him are 2 colleagues of UNICEF branches in Panama and Haiti – 2 countries with immunization delays. In Haiti, the vaccination team is ready, but problems are hampering vaccine shipments. Fuel in Haiti is quite expensive, roads are poor … Schreiber persistently connects with people in Haiti every day. Nguyen Thanh Hai ( (According to spiegel, April 24, 2021) )