Sinovac Biotech signs up to supply COVAX with CoronaVac

China-based company could supply up to 380 million doses from July 2021 through to June 2022

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has signed an advance purchase agreement (APA) with Sinovac on behalf of the equitable vaccine distribution programme, the COVAX Facility, for the Chinese company's inactivated virus vaccine against COVID-19, CoronaVac.

Within the terms of the agreement, Sinovac will produce 50 million doses for Q3 supply; Gavi also has the option to purchase an additional 150 million doses in Q4 this year, and 180 million more during the first half of 2022.

In total, up to 380 million potential doses of the Sinovac vaccine could be available to both self-financing participants of the Facility, as well as those supported by the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

The delivery of Sinovac's CoronaVac to receiving countries can get underway immediately because WHO authorised it for Emergency Use Listing on June 1 after the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended two doses could be given to adults aged 18 and older.

As of the end of June 2021, the company has already delivered in excess of one billion doses worldwide, a feat aided by the vaccine's inactivated state, which makes transporting and storing of it much easier than other COVID-19 vaccines.

According to a recently published updated Facility global supply forecast, deals with manufacturers, as well as donations from countries with excess supply, COVAX is on track to deliver more than 2 billion doses by early 2022.