GENEVA: The World Health Organization hopes to be able to launch COVID-19 vaccines in poor and lower middle-income countries in February through its COVAX programme, WHO Senior Adviser Bruce Aylward said on Monday.

"Over 40 countries have now begun vaccinating against COVID-19. However all of that vaccination, or virtually all, was in high income or middle income countries so far," he said. "We have got to see vaccines going into arms in lower and lower-middle income countries."

He said the COVAX programme could begin vaccinating people in February, and there was an effort to speed it up so some vaccinations in poor countries could take place this month.