WHO's COVAX program delivers 1st COVID-19 vaccines
COVAX, the World Health Organization program to equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries, delivered 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Ghana on Wednesday. It is the first batch of what COVAX hopes will be 2 billion doses for 92 countries by the end of 2021, and UNICEF and the WHO jointly described the delivery as a "momentous occasion" in the global fight against COVID-19.
Ghana, a West African nation of 30 million people, said Tuesday that it has recorded 81,245 COVID-19 cases and 584 deaths, though the actual number is believed to be higher. The country will start its vaccination campaign on March 2, starting with health care workers, people 60 and older, Ghanaians with underlying health issues, and frontline government officials and their staff.
COVAX has raised $6 billion but says it needs an additional $2 billion to meet its 2021 target. The AstraZeneca doses delivered to Ghana were made by the Serum Institute of India.
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