The first batch of Covid-19 vaccines started on with its deliveries to Ghana

Mumbai: On Wednesday, the first set of the Covid-19 vaccines under the Covax initiative started rolling out in Ghana. The beginning of such a delivery marks the commencement of a global roll-out. On February 23, under such an initiative, 600,000 doses of the

AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) of Pune were shipped to Accra in Ghana. As a part of an ‘unprecedented effort’, Accra today has received the first batch of the dose that had been shipped. It has been delivered by Covax in Africa. By the end of this year, it is committed to delivering at least 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

According to a statement from Gavi, the delivery is a part of the first phase of arrivals that will continue in the upcoming days and weeks.

Covax is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization, and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, working in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Bank.

In relation to the development, the CEO of Serum Institute of India has stated, “It is a historic movement for all of us as Covax receives its first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by SII, Covishield”.

The international pooled purchasing mechanism for Covid-19 vaccines, Covax, has only one intention and that is to make sure that there is an equal access to vaccines for each of the countries that are participating. According to a report, more than 180 countries including 90 self-financing upper middle-and-high-income countries are a part of the initiative. In order of reach up to the goal of 20% coverage for all the countries that are participating by the end of 2021, Covax is yet to secure sufficient funds that is required for an adequate number of vaccines.

As of February 3, it is barely covering 3.3% of the total population of the countries that are participating until the first half of the year. According to health experts, this is posing a challenge for the low-and lower-middle-income countries that are dependent entirely on participation in Covax. As they have no other publicly available vaccine purchase arrangement, they are bound to secure their access to this vaccine.