Ghana to receive world’s first batch of COVAX vaccines doses

By Grace Kuria

Ghana is on Wednesday set to be the first country in the world to receive a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, an effort backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to distribute the vaccines for free to poor nations.

On Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted saying, “I’m pleased that the first shipments of doses through COVAX are being sent today. But many countries are yet to administer a single dose.”

Pleased to speak at the @ColumbiaMed's #VaccineSymposium today. Since the beginning of the #COVID19 pandemic, we knew that vaccines would be a vital tool for controlling it. But we also knew from experience that the #VaccinEquity wouldn’t happen on its own. https://t.co/rJxQbNSZvx

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 23, 2021

“This is a momentous occasion, as the arrival of the Covid_19 vaccines into Ghana is critical in bringing the pandemic to an end. The only way out of this crisis is to ensure that vaccinations are available for all.” Said UNICEF in a joint statement with WHO.

According to the two bodies, “These 600,000 Covax vaccines are part of an initial tranche of deliveries of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India, which represent part of the first wave of Covid vaccines headed to several low and middle-income countries,”

COVAX has said it would deliver two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.

Ghana has thus far registered 80,759 Coronavirus cases and 582 deaths.