WHO says most African countries to begin vaccination drives by end of March - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 11, 2024, 05:40 AM | Calgary | -1.6°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
World

WHO says most African countries to begin vaccination drives by end of March

Most African countries will kick-start their COVID-19 vaccination programs by the end of March as efforts to procure doses for the continent's 1.3 billion people gather pace, the World Health Organization says.

Almost 10 million vaccine doses have been delivered to 11 countries, official says

A technician shows a carton of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, inside a cold storage room at the central vaccine depot in Kitengela town on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday. (Ben Curtis/The Associated Press)

Most African countries will kick-start their COVID-19 vaccination programs by the end of March as efforts to procure doses for the continent's 1.3 billion people gather pace, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

The world's poorest continent faces logistical and financial obstacles to securing all the vaccines it needs, but the WHO-led COVAX facility has begun to bear fruit.

"This week Africa has been at the forefront of COVAX facility deliveries, finally, with almost 10 million vaccine doses being delivered to 11 countries as of this morning," WHO Africa's Matshidiso Moeti told a virtual news conference.

"We expect that around half of African countries will receive COVAX deliveries in the coming week and that most countries will have vaccination programs underway by the end of March."

COVAX, also led by the GAVI vaccines alliance and other partners, plans to send about 1.3 billion doses to 92 lower- and middle-income nations, covering up to 20 per centof their populations.

As of Thursday, Africa had reported at least 3,955,000 infections and 104,000 deaths.

Add some good to your morning and evening.

Start the day smarter. Get the CBC News Morning Brief, the essential news you need delivered to your inbox.

...

The next issue of CBC News Morning Brief will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in theSubscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.