China has announced plans to provide 10 million Coronavirus vaccine doses under the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, from which Dominica is set to receive 20,000,  the Chinese Embassy in Dominica has said.

The Covax program, which aims to provide two billion doses of vaccine, pools funding from richer countries to ensure poorer nations can inoculate their health workers and most vulnerable citizens, on the basis that the pandemic would remain a global threat if it was not tackled worldwide.

“This is another important measure taken by China to promote the equitable distribution of vaccines, advance international cooperation in fighting the pandemic, and uphold the concept of a global community of health for all,” Chinese spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said.

“We hope that capable countries in the international community can play an active role and take concrete actions to support COVAX as well as the WHO’s work, to help developing countries receive vaccines in time and contribute to the global defeat of the pandemic at an early date,” he said.

According t the Chinese Embassy, two weeks ago, in a telephone conversation with Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that China provided medical aid for Dominica and other countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and promised to contribute to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries including Dominica.

The Chinese officials have announced that three Chinese vaccine makers, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and CanSino, had formally applied for inclusion in the Covax stockpile.