SINGAPORE – Some 145 to 150 million doses of coronavirus vaccines could be delivered in the first quarter of this year to countries in the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) scheme – the first milestone in the initiative’s plan to secure nearly two billion doses by the end of the year.

Covax is also in a position to buy spare doses from high-income countries, many of which have taken “multiple shots on goal” and purchased in excess of their needs, said Dr Seth Berkley, who heads the Gavi vaccine alliance.

“Obviously right now, there’s a little bit of a global vaccine panic, and so many countries want doses,” he told a virtual discussion organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda on Tuesday (Jan 26).