While vaccine makers have been able to manufacture a total of 11.2 billion of Covid-19 vaccine doses this year, concern has been raised about the uneven distribution of the vaccines.
At a recent press briefing the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network (DCVMN) and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFMA) released data that confirmed production of Covid-19 vaccines scaled up from zero to 11.2 billion doses in just one year.
“The complexity of vaccine development and manufacturing cannot be overstated, which is why the production levels we are seeing today merit to be celebrated. As doses leave factories, it is vital that they reach those who need them the most,” said Sai Prasad, Director for Quality Operations of Bharat Biotech and President of the DCVMN.
The DCVMN is a voluntary public, health-driven alliance of vaccine manufacturers from developing countries, firmly engaged in research, development, manufacturing and supply of high-quality vaccines that are accessible to protect people against known and emerging infectious diseases globally.
New production lines
The manufacturing scale up of Covid-19 vaccines that had been developed in record time required building new production lines able to consistently produce millions of doses to the highest quality standards, managing global supply chains for hundreds of components and ingredients, as well as forging over 300 partnerships around the world to increase manufacturing output.
Of these deals, 229 include various forms of voluntary collaboration that rely on technology transfer, sharing of know-how about the processes and the technologies used to make the vaccines, as well as training specialist personnel to ensure quality standards.
“Unprecedented levels of collaboration between large and small biotech companies has enabled the breakthrough innovation—in the form of vaccines and therapeutics—we need to fight Covid-19. Our scientists and researchers remain committed to improving public health by discovering new scientific tools to protect us from infectious diseases and to working with global partners to increase health equity around the world,” said Dr. Michelle McMurry-Health, President and CEO of BIO.
The BIO is the world’s largest advocacy association representing member companies, state biotechnology groups, academic and research institutions and related organizations across the United States and in 30 plus more countries.
Vaccine surplus
The 2021 supply of Covid-19 vaccines resulted in half of the world’s population being vaccinated with a year. Independent studies indicate that by the end of March 2022, the Group of Seven and European union Countries are projected to have a surplus of 1.4 billion vaccines even when administering boosters.
Dose-sharing is gaining momentum to reach those who have not yet been vaccinated and COVAX is ramping up fast to ensure doses are distributed equitably around the world. So far, more than 700 million doses have been shipped by COVAX to 144 countries and nearly one million doses ordered.
Rapid and efficient delivery of Covid-19 vaccines requires effective and flexible coordination and planning. The groups said attention is urgently needed to focus on concrete measures in recipient countries to support Covid-19 vaccine deployment and uptake. These measures include:
Political prioritization, funding, infrastructure and human resources must be sufficient to deliver vaccines safely, including upscaling cold chain capabilities from airfields to the last mile and increasing health workforce numbers to deliver the vaccines even in areas that are hard to reach and without compromising routine immunization.
Extension of shelf life, with the increase in dose-sharing and distribution of vaccines, coupled with the challenges related to country absorption, innovation and regulatory oversight needed so that shelf life is extended, in line with ongoing studies looking at the stability of vaccines, to ensure vaccines are not wasted.
Regulatory approval even before doses reach countries requires World Health Organization and national regulatory authorities to work together to ensure that vaccines are approved at the national level so that doses can be deployed immediately.
Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires collective focus as there continues to be pockets of people that, after 18 months of safe data and over eight billion doses administered around the planet, remain hesitant towards Covid-19 vaccines.
“Vaccine manufacturers have delivered on their promise of innovation breakthroughs and have ramped up manufacturing output to historic levels. There have been setbacks, not least the unequal distribution of vaccines. Since May 2021, we have been flagging supplies are sufficient to vaccinate all those who need protection and calling for urgent, planned and efficient redistribution of doses. We are ready to continue innovating in the light of the new variants, and to persevere in our efforts to produce more doses, but we call for greater commitment and urgency to remove the barriers which prevent getting vaccine into people’s arms,” said Thomas Cueni, Director General of IFPMA.