Coronavirus vaccines: who was the first country to receive doses of Covax

ACCRA.- Ghana is now the first country to receive coronavirus vaccines funded by the Covax device, which aims to provide emergency medicines to low-income countries, as announced by Unicef ​​and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The plane carrying the 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine made at the Serum Institute of India, landed this morning (local) at the airport in Accra, the capital of the African country.

These vaccines were shipped by UNICEF from Bombay and are part of the first series of anti-ovoid vaccines intended for several low- and middle-income countries, according to a joint statement by the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

“This episode represents the beginning of what should be the largest supply and distribution of vaccines in historyThe statement said.

“The Covax device plans to deliver nearly two billion doses of vaccines this year. This is an unprecedented global effort to ensure access to vaccines for all citizens, ”the statement added.

Ghana, an English-speaking country in West Africa, has recorded 80,759 cases of coronavirus, including 582 deaths. However, these figures are underestimated because the number of tests performed is still low.

The Covax system aims to provide anti-oviduct vaccines this year 20% of the population of nearly 200 countries and participating territories, but most importantly, it has a funding mechanism that allows 92 low- and middle-income economies to access the valuable doses.

Covax – jointly founded by WHO, the Vaccination Alliance (Gavi) and the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) – has signed agreements with vaccine manufacturers for 2 billion doses in 2021 and has the possibility of purchasing an additional 1 billion.

This includes 1.1 billion doses from the Serum Institute of India, which produces the AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines.

Initially, the WHO and Gavi believed they could start distributing vaccines to underprivileged countries, which joined Covax, in January or February, but this deadline has been delayed.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, The WHO director on Monday accused some rich countries of “undermining” the Covax device.

Last Friday, G7 leaders have announced more than double their collective immunization support, with 7.5 billion dollars, through the Covax program.

Besides the United States, the European Union has doubled its contribution to 1 billion euros, while Germany has released new funds.

While in some rich countries vaccination campaigns began in late 2020, many poor countries have yet to receive doses, especially on the African continent.

The discovery of new variants, in South Africa and Great Britain, also accelerated vaccine fever.

Since the start of the pandemic, Africa has officially remained one of the continents least affected by the virus, but most countries on the continent were hit by a second wave which forced them to adopt strict sanitary measures again.

To help speed up vaccination for 1.3 billion people on the continent, theThe African Union said it has secured 270 million doses of vaccine to distribute this year.

AFP and Telam agencies

THE NATION

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