The COVAX facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has reportedly lowered the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to North Korea, as the country refused to make any delivery arrangements for the U.N.-backed immunization program. The number of vaccine doses allocated for North Korea dropped to 1.54 million doses, compared to 8.11 million doses allocated last year, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) website. A spokesperson at Gavi, a global vaccine alliance that co-leads the COVAX facility, claimed that the initial number of allotted doses to North Korea is irrelevant now that COVAX is focusing more on “needs-based” vaccine distributions. “Vaccines were allocated to [North Korea] on technical considerations to enable the country to catch up with international immunization targets in 2022 in case the government decides to introduce COVID-19 immunizations as part of the national pandemic response,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson reaffirmed COVAX’s commitment …