Ethiopia prepares for Covid vaccination campaign when first doses arrive

Ethiopia received its first 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, and officials in Africa’s second-most populous country said the first injections would be given in the coming days.

The doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, have been allocated as part of the UN-led Covax initiative, which works to facilitate access to the vaccine for the poorest countries.

“After a long wait of uncertainty, hope has become a reality,” said Health Minister Lia Tadesse during a ceremony at the airport in the capital Addis Ababa.

She hailed Covax as “an unprecedented global partnership”, adding: “The more people get vaccinated, the faster we will beat this pandemic.”

Ethiopia has so far reported 165,029 cases of Covid-19, the fifth highest total in Africa and the highest in East Africa.

Over the past month, cases have increased by 12 percent on average every week, and deaths have increased by 37 percent on average every week, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“We have lost over 2,400 of our siblings, and we know the real numbers could be much higher,” Lia said on Sunday.

Sunday’s delivery “is part of the first wave of Covid-19 vaccine arrivals in Ethiopia that will continue in the coming weeks,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

Ethiopia’s vaccination campaign will initially target health workers, senior health ministry adviser Muluken Yohannes told AFP.

“This week the administration will begin,” he said.

The goal is to vaccinate 20% of the country’s roughly 110 million people by the end of the year, he said.

Ethiopia has so far not organized separate shipments of vaccines to supplement what Covax can provide, Muluken said.

Although he received offers of donations, none were approved, he said.

“If there are successful donation programs, we will make it transparent,” he said.

Neighboring Djibouti also received its first AstraZeneca vaccines via Covax this weekend, the WHO announced on Saturday.

“This first shipment of vaccines will support the vaccination of health workers, people over 50 and people with co-morbidities,” he said.

Etleva Kadilli, director of UNICEF’s supply division, said on Twitter that Djibouti had received 24,000 doses.

Djibouti has recorded 6,102 cases of Covid-19 and 63 deaths, according to the WHO.