INSIGHTi

International COVID-19 Data and Vaccine
Distribution: Selected Resources
August 25, 2021
The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to nearly every country
worldwide, causing millions of cases and deaths as reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The resources below provide information on tracking the international spread of the virus and global
efforts to contain it through vaccine distribution, tests, and treatments.
These resources are not a comprehensive list of COVID-19 international data sources. Rather, they are a
starting point that may help congressional staff find resources for frequently requested data. Some links
may work best with the internet browsers Chrome or Firefox.
Readers may consider using caution when comparing data across sources, time frames, and geographies,
as each resource may have differing methodologies and definitions that may change over time. For
assistance in interpreting or analyzing these data, congressional staff may reach out to the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) (202-707-5700, or place a research request at the CRS website).
For more information concerning the current state of vaccine distribution, please see CRS In Focus
IF11796, Global COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, coordinated by Sara M. Tharakan; for an overview of
data resources concerning COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States, please see
CRS Report R46642, COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths: Selected Resources for National,
State, and Local Data, by Angela Napili and Ada S. Cornell.
International COVID-19 Access to COVID-19 Tools
Accelerator
 In April 2020, the WHO and partners launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools
Accelerator (ACT-A) to accelerate the development, production, and distribution of
COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. Collaborating institutions include the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
(CEPI), FIND, Gavi, the Global Fund, Unitaid, Wellcome, WHO, and the World Bank.
The ACT-A website provides more information on the ACT-A, including
 Country Readiness and Delivery
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11732
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

---

Congressional Research Service
2
 Country Readiness and Delivery Frequently Asked Questions
 COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the ACT-Accelerator. It aims to accelerate the
development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and guarantee fair and equitable
access for every country in the world. COVAX is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO,
alongside its key delivery partner, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In the
Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Revolving Fund is the
recognized procurement agent for COVAX. The WHO-hosted COVAX website provides
more information on COVAX, including
 COVID-19 Vaccine Country Readiness and Delivery
 The COVID-19 Vaccine Introduction Toolkit
International COVID-19 Tracking
The following U.S. and international organizations provide overview tools for tracking COVID-19 in
countries and regions worldwide, including COVID-19 case and death numbers, vaccination rates, and the
impact COVID-19 has had on local populations and economies:
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) COVID Data Tracker. The United
States’ lead public health agency collects and tracks the following international data by
country:
 COVID-19 cases and deaths, counts and rates
 Percent change in COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in the past 7, 14, or 30 days
 Epidemic curve trajectory classification
 Vaccine doses administered and people vaccinated, counts and rates
 Humanitarian Data Exchange’s (HDX’s) COVID-19 Data Explorer: Global Humanitarian
Operations. Run by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), HDX provides an interactive tool for exploring international COVID-19
data in combination with other relevant humanitarian data such as
 Severe acute malnutrition
 School closures
 People in need
 The World Bank’s Understanding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic through Data
website offers a series of interactive datasets on the effects of COVID-19 worldwide,
including but not limited to
 COVID-19 vs. other causes of death (see right-most tab on the chart, “Understanding
the COVID-19 Pandemic through Data”)
 Impacts of coronavirus on remittances
 Financial-sector support measures in response to the coronavirus
 WHO’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard includes data on confirmed COVID-19
cases and deaths by country and region; vaccines in use by country; and persons partly or
fully vaccinated by country.

---

Congressional Research Service
3

International COVID-19 Vaccine Development and
Distribution Tracking
The following websites provide tools focused on tracking the development, production, and distribution
(i.e., shipments and deliveries) of COVID-19 vaccines in countries and regions worldwide.
 Gavi: The Vaccine Alliance’s vaccine roll-out page allows users to explore vaccination
status by country, including the date of the first doses received in each countries, the
type(s) of all vaccines received, and the number of doses allocated. Gavi is a partnership
between the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
among other organizations.
 UNICEF’s Vaccine Market Dashboard provides updated information on
 COVID-19 vaccine development and progress toward vaccine approvals,
 Reported global vaccine production capacity,
 Manufacturing agreements,
 Vaccines secured and optioned through bilateral and multilateral supply agreements,
and
 Reported vaccine prices.


Author Information

Hannah Fischer

Information Research Specialist




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

IN11732 · VERSION 1 · NEW

---