COVAX announced that 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed to Serum Institute of India have arrived in Accra, Ghana, and further deliveries to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, are expected this week, according to a news release from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The deliveries made Ghana the first country outside India to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility in what is expected to be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil organizations, manufacturers, and others.
Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI said, “This is a landmark moment in our efforts to get life-saving vaccine to the world. The fact that we now have multiple safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 developed in record time is testament to the scientific community and industry rising to the challenge of this pandemic. With this shipment we also see the global community, through COVAX, responding to the challenge of delivering these vaccines to those who need them most.”
The vaccines arrived on a flight from Mumbai, via Dubai, where the flight also collected a shipment of syringes from a Gavi-funded stockpile at UNICEF’s regional supply hub.
COVAX said it has built a diverse portfolio of vaccines suitable for a range of settings and populations, and it is on track to meet its goal of delivering at least 2 billion doses of vaccine to participating countries around the globe in 2021, including at least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses to the 92 lower-income facility participants.
