By Press Association 2021 A healthcare worker injects a man with a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in Puerto Rico Moderna and vaccine promoter Gavi have announced a deal by which the pharmaceutical company will provide up to 500 million doses for the UN-backed Covax programme by the end of 2022. The advance purchase agreement comes just days after the World Health Organisation (WHO), after weeks of delays, announced emergency approval for the Moderna vaccine that will pave the way for its rollout in Covax. The UN-backed programme aims to get coronavirus vaccines to needy people in low and middle-income countries. However, deliveries are not set to begin until the fourth quarter of this year, and the vast majority of the doses in the deal – 466 million – are planned for next year, with the remaining 34 million expected this year.