238m doses to be rolled out by May

Pakistan, Nigeria and Indonesia will be among the biggest recipients of free Covid-19 vaccines before June -- more than 10 million doses each -- the Covax scheme has announced. 

Some 238.2 million doses will be distributed to 142 countries by the end of May through the programme aimed at boosting access to coronavirus jabs in poorer nations.

Though vaccination campaigns have gathered pace globally, the majority of injections have been administered in wealthier countries while many nations have yet to receive a single dose.

The five biggest confirmed recipients are Pakistan (14,640,000 doses), Nigeria (13,656,000), Indonesia (11,704,800), Bangladesh (10,908,000) and Brazil (9,122,400). They are followed by Ethiopia (7,620,000), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5,928,000), Mexico (5,532,000), Egypt (4,389,600) and Vietnam (4,176,000).

Iran, Myanmar, Kenya and Uganda are also in line for more than three million doses each.

Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Korea, India and Colombia have already received their first deliveries of vaccines through Covax. Nigeria, Angola, Cambodia all received their first vaccine doses via Covax on Tuesday, with the DR Congo also scheduled for a delivery.

Covax is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The scheme is aiming to distribute enough doses to vaccinate up to 27 percent of the population in the 92 poorest participating economies by the end of the year, with at least 1.3 billion doses intended to go their way.