Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding the UK has provided to COVAX; and what proportion of this is expected to be spent on (1) Sinovac, and (2) Sinopharm vaccines.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK has championed the importance of rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. We are among the largest donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), committing £548 million. Through match-funding, this leveraged $1 billion from other donors in 2020. This support to COVAX has been critical to its distribution of over 136 million COVID-19 vaccines to over 136 countries and economies, with its aim to provide up to 1.8 billion doses to low and middle-income countries by early 2022. The UK has also committed to sharing 100 million vaccine doses by June 2022, 80 per cent of which will go to COVAX to provide further support for countries in need.

The UK's financial commitment to COVAX contributes to the whole COVAX portfolio, which currently consists of 11 COVID-19 vaccines. Exact numbers of different vaccines supplied to countries will depend on timing of availability, country demand and preferences, overall portfolio mix, and ongoing assessment and guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on vaccine effectiveness as the evidence base for different vaccines continues to evolve. All vaccines disbursed by COVAX must pass robust WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or full pre-qualification assessment.