The Lancet COVID-19 Commission calls for three urgent actions in the COVID-19 response (our broader overview is available on our website). First, all regions with high rates of new COVID-19 cases, including the USA and the European Union (EU), should intensify measures to minimise community transmission alongside rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Second, governments should urgently and fully fund WHO and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator,1 including COVAX. Third, the G20 countries should empower the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multilateral development banks to increase the scale of financing and debt relief.