Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of covid-19 vaccine doses available to low- and middle-income countries and humanitarian contexts through COVAX relative to requirement, including from the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine; and what steps he plans to take to tackle any shortfall.

The UK was one of the earliest and largest donors to COVAX, committing £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment. Our early funding helped COVAX secure deals with manufacturers to supply safe and effective vaccines for up to 92 low- and middle-income countries. COVAX has so far helped deliver over 107 million doses to over 135 participants. It aims to provide doses equivalent to up to 30% population in low- and middle-income countries by early 2022. The UK's investment in the research and development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been a key contribution to the global vaccination effort and we are proud that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine forms a significant part of the COVAX portfolio in support of these efforts.

The UK is proud that our G7 Presidency secured agreement from leaders to support vaccinating the world in 2022 and to share and finance an additional 1 billion doses over the next year to accelerate vaccine roll-out. This includes a commitment from the UK to share 100 million doses, 80% of which will go to COVAX to support countries in need, with 5 million doses to be shared by the end of September beginning in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with the G7 and international partners on expanding global access, including efforts to mobilise international financing, increase vaccine supply and support in-country delivery, including community mobilisation and efforts to build vaccine confidence.