France kicks off Europe’s vaccine donations to poorer states – Reuters

France kicks off Europe’s vaccine donations to poorer states – Reuters

A vial of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine doses at a facility in Milton, Ontario, Canada, March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos OsorioFrance will soon become the first European Union member to send some of its own COVID vaccine supplies to developing countries via the international COVAX scheme, hoping others will join its bid to stave off new variants and compete with Russia and China.The French donation of an initial 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID vaccine this month, announced on Wednesday, is a boost for COVAX, which is backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).The COVAX facility aims to secure 2 billion vaccine doses for lower-income countries by the end of 2021 and had received billions of dollars in support but not a single donated dose. read more "France will inaugurate the European vaccine sharing mechanism with COVAX," an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron said. "We very much hope that other countries will commit to physically sharing vaccines with COVAX."Macron has urged EU countries to send 5% of their own vaccine supplies to developing countries to help the bloc regain the initiative from Russia and China in vaccine diplomacy.Moscow and