UN-backed program seeks rollout of 100M vaccine doses in Q1

A U.N.-backed program to deploy COVID-19 vaccines to the neediest people worldwide, especially in poor countries, announced plans Wednesday for an initial distribution of 100 million doses by the end of March and 200 million more by July — hoping to catch up with rich countries that are already deep into rollouts.

Leaders of the COVAX Facility, which seeks a fair distribution of vaccines at a time of short supply, said nearly all of the doses expected for the initial-phase rollout are to come from British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and its...