Obtaining vaccines will only be the first step, in the global roll-out of vaccines for Covid 19

Pharmaceutical company Moderna has become the second company to apply for emergency regulatory approval for a vaccine in the US and Europe.

New Zealand hopes to get its first delivery of vaccines by March, while some countries could get vaccines this month.

International Vaccine Access Center executive director Katherine O'Brien says the true test for every country won't be in getting the vaccines, but in distributing them.

She says getting the vaccines and enough of them is equivalent to reaching the base camp of Everest, and getting them to the right people in the right way is the walk to the summit.