Health secretary, Matt Hancock has announced that global co-operation in vaccine procurement is vital as supplies are set to increase over the next few months.
Speaking at the Global COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Chain and Manufacturing Summit at Chatham House, the cabinet minister laid out plans for a global vaccination strategy and outlined how the UK’s success can be used as a model for other countries.
“As UK Health Secretary I’m not only concerned with making sure we get it right here at home but determined to direct the force of our ingenuity to act globally.”
The government has joined the international community in forming COVAX, an initiative to share vaccines with countries without access to vaccines. The first shipment of which was delivered in Ghana and Ivory Coast last week.
G7 leaders are set to meet in June, in Cornwall and vaccines are set to be a key discussion point between the G7 leaders.
It was also revealed that the UK has procured a hundred million doses from differing manufacturers, but it is thought that over a billion doses will be needed for the rest of the world.
Earlier in the week LH reported that 22,213,112 have received the COVID-19 vaccines, up from 20,089,551 on 28 February.
For the first time the number of people who have received the second dose exceeded 1 million, reaching a total of 1,122,402, as of 7 March 2021.
To read the speech from Matt Hancock, please click here.
