24th February, 2021
By Muhaimin Olowoporoku
The first batch of Covax COVID-19 vaccine has landed in Accra, Ghana from the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer.
600,000 AstraZeneca shot landed in the west African country after the vaccine left Mumbai on Tuesday for Dubai, where a logistics crew picked up hundreds of thousands of syringes, before hurtling toward Africa’s west coast.
Previously, Ghana’s information ministry has said that the Minister-Designate for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, would receive the first batch of the Corovirus vaccines at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
Ghana expects that the first batch of vaccines would be taken from the 2.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine licensed to the Serum Institute of India (AZ/SII).
Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said Ghana was also going to receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccine.
“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,” said UNICEF, which organised the shipment from Mumbai, in a joint statement with the WHO.
Ghana was selected as the first recipient after sending a rollout plan to Covax proving its health-care teams and cold chain equipment were ready to support a quick distribution.
Other nations across West Africa are expected to soon receive similar Covax shipments.