Moderna to supply 100 million Covid vaccines to poor countries

Moderna Inc. will provide as many as 100 million doses of Covid-19 shots that specifically target variants for vaccine alliance Gavi to distribute in lower-income countries in 2023.

Under the agreement, Moderna will supply these mRNA variant-targeting shots for Gavi at the lowest of its tiered prices. The shots will then be distributed to poor countries through the Covax facility, backed by the World Health Organization to ensure vaccine equity around the world, Gavi said Monday.

Gavi will also cancel the delivery of remaining volumes of vaccines under a previous agreement as health providers shift to updated shots that work specifically against Covid’s new variants. The Covax facility has so far delivered 1.8 billion doses across 146 countries. About one tenth of them are from Moderna, through purchases and donations, according to Gavi.

The Covax rollout has enabled around half of the population across 92 lower-income countries to receive two doses of Covid vaccines, including many in the high-risk groups such as elderly and healthcare workers, Gavi said.