Finland to donate €12.6m J&J COVID vaccines to developing countries

The government on Thursday decided to donate the second batch of coronavirus vaccines to the developing countries, said an official press release.

The batch of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine doses worth EUR 12.6 million will be distributed through Team Europe.

This is the second batch of vaccine donations, following Finland’s donation of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines worth EUR 10 million in September.

These vaccines were purchased in advance and they would remain unused in Finland.

The vaccine donations, however, will not slow down the rollout of vaccinations in Finland.

The donation is tied to the vaccine doses from Finland’s share of the EU’s joint vaccine procurement contract.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how rapidly global problems impact wellbeing and economy in Finland. The pandemic can be defeated, but we need more resources and solidarity,” said Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

At the same time, Finland channels EUR 15.2 million to support Gavi, which plays a key role in efforts to respond to the pandemic. Gavi works through the COVAX Facility in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF.

COVAX is the main channel for conducting international cooperation to ensure the equal availability of COVID-19 vaccines and to demonstrate the EU’s vaccine solidarity.