Ivory Coast has become the second country after Ghana to receive coronavirus vaccines under the global vaccine-sharing programme Covax.
The West African nation received 504,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday, delivered from a plant in India.
Authorities in Ivory Coast say they intend vaccinating health workers, teachers and members of the security forces from March.
“Let us celebrate this as a moment of global solidarity in the struggle against the pandemic”?CEPI CEO, Richard Hatchett speaking on this week’s COVAX deliveries
✈️Doses of the @AstraZeneca / @UniofOxford vaccine have just arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire ?? @gavi @WHO @UNICEF pic.twitter.com/1683HqnG50
— CEPI (@CEPIvaccines) February 26, 2021
The country’s Health Minister Eugene Aka Aouélé told reporters that “This is an important step in our shared fight against the common enemy that is Covid-19.”
“The pandemic has taken a heavy toll around the world and our country is no exception. More than 32,000 people living in Ivory Coast have been infected with the disease, and 188 have died. This is a tragedy,” he added.
Cote d’Ivoire will launch its #COVID19 vaccination campaign on Monday 1 March, with frontline health workers and essential staff being among the first to receive them.
This will make it the first African country to roll out #COVAX-funded vaccines. pic.twitter.com/kP1T2a8Y0Y
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) February 26, 2021
On Wednesday Ghana took delivery of 600,000 AstraZeneca doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
The consignment arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in Ghana’s capital, Accra via an Emirates airline plane.
Ghana thus became the first African country to receive the Covid-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility.
The government there also said vaccination will be conducted in phases among segmented populations.
The first segment of population to be vaccinated with this first batch of doses include health workers, adults 60 years and over, people with underlying conditions, frontline executive among others.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
