Kathmandu. The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced plans to distribute the coronavirus vaccine. It has launched a campaign called COVAX to provide timely vaccinations to various countries. Some 150 countries around the world have joined the alliance so far.

The COVAX alliance, formed to streamline the search, production and distribution of vaccines under which wealthy and poor countries, will collect money for the vaccines. It is aimed at ensuring the vaccines not being stockpiled or short so that people from high-risk countries participating in the coalition get timely vaccinations.

64 rich countries including the United Kingdom and Germany have already joined the cause.  China and Russia have not joined it, while the United States has blatantly refused to do so. Nevertheless, WHO expects 24 other rich countries to participate.

Nepal is one of the 92 countries receiving assistance under the WHO’s COVAX Advanced Market Commitment. Once a safe and effective vaccine is ready, it will be available to all the countries through the campaign. The Washington Post reports that the WHO has developed a two-stage plan. In the first phase, each member state will receive a vaccine for 3   percent oi ts population which will be increased later to reach 20 percent.

Even if the vaccine reaches 20% of the population and the supply is limited, the second phase of the program will be started where the countries with the highest risk of infection as per the priority. Although a country can decide who will be vaccinated first and in which area, the first stage vaccines to be given to 3 percent of the population is ethically expected to be given to health workers and other high-risk people.

Many experts have criticized the WHO model arguing that doctors in affluent nations may be at lesser risk than citizens in widely affected countries.