Global COVID vaccine scheme closes after saving millions of lives

As The World Health Organization (WHO) draws to a close COVAX, its pioneering global effort to distribute coronavirus vaccines, the agency said a new strain of the virus, JN.1, would be classed as a "variant of interest."

Launched in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, COVAX is a multilateral mechanism for ensuring fair access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The scheme is responsible for supplying nearly two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses and safe injection devices to 146 economies.