The Quad Vaccine Partnership is coordinating the efforts of Australia, India, Japan and the US to expand and share safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccine doses where and when needed and support effective delivery in the Indo-Pacific region. Quad Leaders announced the Quad Vaccine Partnership at the inaugural Quad Leaders’ Summit on 13 March 2021, to which the former Prime Minister committed $100 million. Australia’s commitment complements the Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative and focus on procuring vaccines on behalf of countries in Southeast Asia and supporting national vaccine rollouts to ensure doses reach those who need them.
Quad Leaders have convened four meetings since March 2021, most recently meeting in person for the second time at a Summit in Tokyo on 24 May 2022. Leaders celebrated achievements of Quad partners in leading global efforts of the COVID-19 response, including delivering over 670 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. Leaders also acknowledged the need to, over time, shift from responding to COVID-19 to strengthening global architecture and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The Quad Joint Leader’s Statement can be found here.
The Quad Vaccine Partnership collaborates with multilateral organizations including the World Health Organization, the COVAX facility, Gavi, CEPI, UNICEF and ASEAN.
To accelerate efforts to end COVID-19 and prepare for the next pandemic, the Quad will also strengthen science and technology cooperation, including on clinical trials and genomic surveillance. The Quad hosted a side event at the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022 that showcased best practice in combatting vaccine hesitancy.