The World Health Organization said Ivory Coast received 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the second country to receive vaccines through the WHO-administered COVAX vaccine program.
AstraZeneca vaccine delivery to the capital of West African country, Abidjan, followed the first COVAX delivery to neighboring country Ivory Coast, Ghana, on Wednesday.
At the group’s regular press conference at their headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Nigeria expects 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine next week.
Tedros said, “More doses will be sent to more countries in the coming days and weeks as we move towards our target of starting vaccinations in all countries within the first 100 days of the year. We now have 43 days left. “
The WHO leader said the program had made great strides, but that the WHO needed to accelerate the supply and circulation of vaccines. Some countries are continuing to approach vaccine manufacturers to cut contracts on the sidelines, Tedros said eliminating vaccines earmarked for the COVAX facility.
Tedros chief adviser Bruce Aylward told reporters that the situation had improved, and that most countries had listened to the WHO chief executive ‘s request not to collect vaccines. But there are still those countries that want to collect vaccines that could harm COVAX supply.
The COVAX program is designed to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are shared equitably by all countries regardless of economic status and aims to deliver 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Tedros reaffirmed the need for pandemic medicine for treatments for all. He said, “We cannot beat COVID without a vaccine balance. Our world will not recover quickly enough without vaccine equality, this is clear. So sharing the vaccine is the best way to get back to normal. “