Covax set for global distribution as Africa gets nearly 90m COVID-19 vaccine doses February

*Nigeria stands to receive 16 million doses as the most populous country on the continent, says WHO African Region

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As the leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers intensify efforts at adequately meeting increasing global demands for doses, Covax, the global programme striving to ensure equitable access to the vaccines, has allocated about 90 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s shots to African countries and aims for its first deliveries by end of February 2021.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) African region disclosed this in a media briefing on the roll out of vaccines on the continent Thursday, February 4, 2021.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: “Africa has watched other regions start COVID-19 vaccination campaigns from the side-lines for too long.

“This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines. We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe.”

ConsumerConnect learnt Nigeria, the most populous nation on the African continent, stands to receive 16 million doses, while Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are in line for 9 million and 7 million doses respectively, according to an interim distribution forecast published Wednesday, February 3.

Other African countries will get a smaller number of vaccines, report stated.

Frederik Kristensen, Deputy Chief Executive of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which heads Covax together with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said: “We are on the path to really start balancing out a global map, which so far has shown how many lower-income countries are yet to start vaccinating a single person, while other, wealthier countries go ahead toward mass vaccination.”

The forecast laid-out plans for the distribution of more than 300 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and 1.2 million of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccines around the world, Bloomberg report said.

Shipping of the AstraZeneca vaccines is scheduled to start late February, with most doses arriving before the end of the second quarter of the year, according to the document.

The plans are non-binding and could change due to manufacturing or operational constraints, or a lack of preparedness by individual countries, according to the forecast.