Guatemala to get 2nd Sputnik shipment as COVAX struggles to meet demand

QUETZALTENANGO, Guatemala — Guatemala will receive a second shipment of doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.

The shipment comes as COVID-19 continues to spread in Guatemala and the prospect of receiving more vaccine supply from COVAX is strained by export restrictions in India, a major supplier for the equitable vaccine access platform. So far, Guatemala has received 403,200 doses from the COVAX, the second shipment of which arrived April 29. Doses from that shipment are still being administered.

Guatemala previously received 50,000 doses of the two-dose Sputnik V on May 5, and Thursday’s shipment will contain another 50,000 doses. Guatemala allocates vaccines to jurisdictions throughout the country, which are then responsible for administering them locally.

Guatemala is among the many low- and middle-income countries that faced delays in securing bilateral contracts to provide enough doses for their population. They are increasingly reliant on vaccine diplomacy from other nations, such as Russia, that are producing their own shots or have excess domestic supply.

COVAX has committed to ensuring participating countries receive enough vaccines to inoculate 20% of their populations. But, Seth Berkely, CEO at GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance said last week that the situation in India, which has recorded over 25 million cases and is experiencing more than 4,000 deaths per day, has put COVAX 150 million doses behind its distribution schedule.

India has set export restrictions on its AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The facility said it expects it will not be able to resume vaccine exports to COVAX or to other countries until the end of 2021.

UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said Monday that another 50 million doses are likely to be missed in June.

The global vaccine shortage has put pressure on countries such as the United States, which find themselves with excess supply as vaccination rates slow domestically while other countries remain desperate to increase access to the life-saving shots.

President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. would send 20 million doses of U.S.-approved vaccine abroad by the end of June, adding to the 60 million doses of AstraZeneca previously announced. The White House said it would work with COVAX to ensure the doses were distributed “in a way that is equitable” but has not said where the shipments will go.

Guatemala has previously benefited from bilateral vaccine diplomacy, receiving 200,000 doses from the Indian government and 4,000 from Israel in February.

As of May 18, there have been 241,528 reported COVID-19 cases and 7,893 related deaths in Guatemala. The country experienced its peak caseload on April 20, with nearly 2,000 daily infections reported.

So far, less than 1% of the population has been vaccinated, with some doses from the second shipment from COVAX being given as second shots. Guatemala has prioritized health care workers in its vaccination campaign and is now expanding access based on age.

Pan-American Health Organization Country Representative in Guatemala, Oscar Barreneche, told Devex there has been frustration that Guatemala has not gotten more doses through COVAX, but that PAHO and WHO do not determine which country gets what, and when.

“If there is a lesson to be learned it’s that we really need for the next pandemic — the rules of the game will have to change, because the countries of the world will have to agree on how … to get access to everyone to the same tools,” Barreneche said. “This situation that we live [in] regarding the access to vaccines. It should not be repeated.”