YANGON------Myanmar may get COVID-19 vaccine in first four months of 2021 from COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility), says retired Director-General and consultant on communicable diseases Professor Dr Soe Lwin Nyein who is also a member of Technical Support Committee for the Ministry of Health and Sports(MOHS).

“The experts expected the vaccines against the COVID-19 can be produced in December. Moreover, the COVID-19 vaccine may be available in the first four months of 2021 from the COVAX Facility,” said Professor Dr Soe Lwin Nyein.

The COVAX Facility is coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and forms a key part of COVAX----the vaccines pillar of the ACT Accelerator, a ground-breaking global collaboration involving vaccine manufacturers to accelerate the development, production the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. The overall aim of COVAX is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. It will achieve this by sharing the risks associated with vaccine development, and where necessary investing in manufacturing upfront so vaccines can be deployed at scale as soon as they are proven to be safe and effective, and pooling procurement and purchasing power to achieve sufficient volumes to end the acute phase of the pandemic by 2021.

Union Minister of the MOHS is now acting as a member of a Board from South East Asia and Eastern Pacific Regional Countries of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. He discussed the first priority for getting of COVID-19 vaccine in Myanmar.

Professor Dr Soe Lwin Nyein said that Myanmar already carried out a co-financing effort, aiming to get COVID-19 vaccine. If, the vaccine will be available, the COVAX Facility would produce the COVID-19 vaccine for 3% of Myanmar populations.