Sánchez announces that Spain will donate an additional 15 million vaccines to fight COVID-19

The multilateral COVAX initiative is the vaccine pillar of the ACT-Accelerator, a mechanism co-led by Spain from the outset, which aims to accelerate the development, production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The president stressed that "in the fight against the virus, it is not just about giving money, but also about coming up with new ideas". Spain will provide 15 million vaccines, in addition to the donation of 7.5 million for Latin America that it announced in April, bringing the total to 22.5 million vaccines by the end of 2021. Likewise, Spain will contribute another 50 million euros to COVAX through the Global Vaccine Alliance, and is collaborating with the WHO, through the C-TAP initiative, to openly licence a serological test for COVID-19 developed in Spain by CSIC researchers. The technology, which is able to differentiate between antibodies produced by vaccination and those produced by a COVID-19 infection with 99% reliability could be a useful diagnostic tool for countries with fewer resources.

The head of the Executive stressed that the Government of Spain "saw that we will only be safe from the virus when everyone on the planet is safe from the beginning of the crisis". For this reason, Spain has contributed with pioneering national projects since the beginning of the pandemic, such as the Solidarity Vaccination Plan, and supports the implementation, as soon as possible, of the EU Vaccine Exchange Mechanism. In addition, our country presented "Vaccines for all", an international initiative that aims to increase vaccine production and expand distribution to all countries "to leave no one behind".

"Only by leading by example will we be effective in preaching solidarity. And only through solidarity can this crisis be overcome and the wounds of our societies healed", concluded the president.

Non official translation