On 10 June 2021, Venezuelan officials announced they have been unable to complete payments for available vaccines from the COVAX program. Initially the transaction of $120 million was to be paid per agreement with Juan Guaidó using funds frozen in the United States via Washington's sanctions against Maduro, but later Venezuelan officials said they would use their own funds. Subsequently, Swiss bank UBS confirmed that four operations, totaling $4.6 million, "were blocked and under investigation." Vice President Delcy Rodríguez remarked the remaining payment of $10 million could not be completed. UBS would not specify further due to legal and regulatory reasons. The Maduro government said for months that it was unable to pay for the COVAX program because of U.S. sanctions. Venezuela expressed interest in the Janssen and Novavax vaccines after the requested shipment of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines was never approved by national authorities."Venezuela says payments to COVAX vaccine system have been blocked". Reuters Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved 10 June 2021. In August 2021, those payments were reportedly unblocked, and Venezuela will receive 6.2 million doses of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine and CoronaVac through the program."Venezuela to receive COVAX vaccines in coming days, Maduro says" Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
