Ghana receives first COVID vaccine through UN-backed COVAX scheme

At least 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Accra as part of efforts for equitable global access to jabs.

Ghana has become the first country to receive vaccines through the UN-backed COVAX scheme, which aims to get COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s most vulnerable people, in a global effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic. A flight carrying 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India landed in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), said in a joint statement on Wednesday. The delivery comes almost a year after the WHO first described the novel coronavirus as a global pandemic and eight months after the launch of the COVAX initiative, aimed at pooling funds from wealthier countries and non-profits to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and distribute it equitably around the world.